Soul of Fire: Book 1: My New Life
by Commander Kitsune
Summary: What starts with my death becomes my new life. My name is Josh Ryu Kitsune, protector of Konoha, friend of Naruto and wielder of Soul Calibur. My mission: Reclaim Soul Edge for my Goddess. I do not own the story Naruto or Soul Calibur. NaruHina, OCFeKyuu.
1. Chapter 1: My Death and Rebirth

Book 1 - My New Life

**Cry of the Soul Swords**

**Book 1 - My New Life**

**Chapter 1: My Death and Rebirth**

(Cue song Morning, Morning from Chobits OST 1)

The sun hit my eyes, signalling that it was morning and that it was time for me to get up. I groaned; I really did not want to get up. I thrashed round, trying to get back to sleep. A futile attempt. Slowly I opened my brown eyes and surveyed my surroundings. A small room with a bookshelf, a desk with a computer on top and a small set of drawers next to my bed. A TV stood at the end of the bed with a PS2 and X-Box 360 wired to it. This was my room. I got out of my bed and walked to the bathroom. I turned on the tap and splashed myself to get awake. I then got into the shower and started washing myself and brushing my teeth at the same time. After I had finished I walked out and dried myself off. Walking back into my room I dressed myself in a red shirt with a white fox on it. Foxes are my favourite animal. I pulled on a pair of black cargo pants and my socks and shoes. I quickly brushed my long, black hair and pulled it into a long ponytail. I then turned to the bookshelf. There were a couple of books there. Books written by David Eddings and Phillip Paulman. But on the shelf under that there were three pictures. The first one was of a man wearing a white shirt and a kind smile. This was my dad, who had passed away when I was 16. The second picture was of a man and woman, arms round each other and also smiling. This was my Mum and Step-Dad who I loved very much. They too, passed away in a car crash when I was 18. The third was a little strange. Firstly because it was a pic from an anime and secondly it was from Naruto, a famous anime at the moment. In the picture was the main character, his two team mates and teacher. If you were a fan of Naruto then you would know what it looked like. Naruto was giving one of his team mates a dirty look, while he just looked disinterested. The second team mate had this really girly expression on her face, no doubt happy to be next to Sasuke; the one Naruto was looking pissed at. The girl was called Sakura. Their teacher, Kakashi, was ruffling Naruto and Sasuke's hair while smiling into the camera. I smiled at all three pictures.

"Well, I'm off. See you when I get back," I said as I walked out of the room, swiping a breakfast bar, my iPod and my books as I walked out of the house.

My name is Josh Ryu Kitsune. It used to be Josh Anthony but I did not like my last name so I changed it to the Japanese names of my two favourite animals; Ryu for dragon and Kitsune for fox. Since my last two parents died I have been living alone. I had the chance to move in with some of my mum's friends but I politely declined. I didn't want to become a burden. And so now I have been renting a small unit while I attend Uni. I became obsessed with anime as an escape from the harsh reality. I know it seems that I run away but I can be in my own little world and can retreat to it. My favourite is the anime Naruto as you've probably already guessed.

I caught the bus to the train station and had boarded the train. The Uni was a fair way away and so I sat down as the train started speeding up. I started to entertain myself as I listened to my music on my iPod. The song was called Together we fly by Scudelia Electro from King of Bandit: Jing OST. A good song to listen to when you are travelling. I started thinking, what it would be like to live in Konoha, the place where Naruto lives. In watching the anime I had already finished the first series and was well into the second, Naruto: Shippuuden. I could name each event that unfolded, even the filler episodes. Sounds lame, I know, but it was just such a damn good anime.

I looked out of the window and notice that there was something wrong. 'Aren't we going a bit too fast?' I thought. The landscape was flashing past at very fast speeds. And it seamed that we were getting faster. Suddenly there was an explosion in the front car and the heat swept through the second carriage. A few people started screaming. I sprang to my feet.

"Everyone!" I yelled and everyone turned their heads to me. "If we move to the back of the train, we stand a better chance! Let's go!" Everyone started pushing forward as they tried to get to the third carriage. I pushed forward to the front carriage, thinking that there might be someone still alive. The automatic doors still worked and I stepped into the front carriage. It was hot, very hot. My eyes stung and started to water as I searched. I found two schoolgirls that looked like they had been knocked out.

"C'mon, wake up you guys!" I yelled over the roar of the flames. The girls slowly woke up, coughing in the smoke. "What happened?" one asked. "It seams there has been an accident. I need you girls to move to the back of the train while I search for more survivors ok?" The two girls nodded and started crawling along the ground to avoid most of the smoke. The one that spoke turned around and yelled, "Be careful!" before joining her friend. I continued forward to the most damaged part of the train. Sadly it seamed that these people were not so lucky as the girls. There were smoking corpses everywhere. I kept myself from hurling the contents of the breakfast bar onto the floor and started to turn around when two things happened. First were flashes of lightning from the driver's cabin. The second was the obliteration of the front carriage. Just before I was incinerated my last thought was 'I hope the others will live,' before the intense flames instantly ended my life.

Floating. That's what I felt like as I regained consciousness. I opened up my eyes to see nothing but white. 'So, I guess that this means that I'm dead and that I'm waiting to be judged for whether I should go to heaven or hell.' I thought as I floated there.

"Hello, Josh," came a kind and very feminine voice. I twisted my head round to see a very beautiful woman dressed in white, standing next to me, smiling. A wealth of long, golden hair framed her breathtaking face as two, deep blue orbs gazed back at me. 'Man! If all angels are this beautiful then I think I'm going to enjoy my time here,' I thought. Her smile widened. "That's very nice that you think I'm beautiful."

"………. I should have known you could read minds," I grumbled. 'Idiot, idiot, idiot! Now she probably thinks I'm a perv.'

"I should also say that I'm not an angel," she said.

"Welcome wagon?"

"No,"

"Mesenger?"

"Nope," Her smile was getting wider.

"Umm…secretary?"

"No silly. I'm God,"

"………………………….WHAAAAAAAAAAT!!"

The goddess started laughing at this and it was melodious, the laughter seeming to hang and tinkle in the air. It was…enjoyable but I was still scared shitless. God, or rather, Goddess, was standing in front of me. "I-I'm sorry. I meant no disrespect,"

The goddess waved my apology aside. "Don't worry about it. I actually brought you here to ask you a favour."

'She wants me to do a favour for her?! Wow,' was all I could think before I reigned in my thoughts and answered her. "What would you have me do?"

She smiled again, something I would never get tired of seeing. "I need you to seek out a sword for me. It is an evil sword that has reawakened and I need you to recover it for me. Don't destroy it, for that would upset the delicate balance of good and evil in all that I have created. I'm sure you've herd of the Ying-Yang?" I nodded. The concept was very familiar to me. "Well everything I made had this foundation built into them. The universe must have balance. This is the task I want you to do for me."

"This sword sounds very familiar," I commented for it sounded like the Soul Calibur games. The goddess smiled and recited a verse that I knew well.

"Transcending history and the world, a tale of souls and swords, eternally retold."

I was stunned. "How do you know that verse?"

"The characters and the story may be made up, but the swords are real. I had both swords in my possession but Soul Edge was stolen from me, broken into many pieces and sent to a certain planet. There it was scattered all around the globe. At first I didn't worry for there was no danger. But after 12 years someone is trying to reconstruct Soul Edge. You must wait until the sword is complete unless you want to hunt for all the pieces." I nodded, seeing the sense in that.

"So, where is this place?" I asked. The goddess then smiled widely and said, "It's where your favourite anime character lives,"

'Where my…. Oh COOL!!' I thought. "Where Naruto lives!?" I asked. She nodded. "WHOO HOO, YEAH! ALRIGHT!!" I shouted. I was blown away. 'I could see Naruto,'

"There is another thing I need to ask you to do," asked the goddess as I calmed down. "I need you to befriend Naruto and keep him safe from harm. You'll need his help in your quest."

"Absolutely ma'am! I won't let you down!" I said, bursting with happiness. Then a question popped into my head. "Why did you choose me for this mission?"

The beautiful goddess smiled and said, "Because, for some reason, you seem to be resistant to the possession of the Soul swords. I do not know the reason, as unbelievable as that may sound. But I'm not letting this chance slip away." I again nodded. I was not going to complain. "So, when do I leave?"

"You'll leave as soon as I give you some upgrades to help you on this task I have set for you. First I am going to chance your appearance. Any preference?" she asked. I didn't need to think about this. "Can you change my hair to white and make it spiky in a certain way?"

"Sure, just focus the image of what you want in your mind and I'll do the rest," she said. I brought up a picture in my mind. I remembered an ad for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and seeing Zacks hair after he inherited the Buster Sword. I then felt my hair shorten and morph for a few seconds. Afterwards the goddess summoned a mirror and I was able to see my new hairstyle. It looked really cool. We then proceeded with other changes. Soon I had eyes as blue as the goddess' eyes and I now wore a black muscle shirt with black cargo pants and a white leather trench coat that was reversible to black. Included was a pair of black, steal capped combat boots. I had slipped on a pair of white leather, fingerless gloves. I was now quite muscular and felt really strong. Although she shrunk me so I looked like 13 years old, but I could handle that.

Then we moved onto powers. She allowed me three techniques. When I asked her why she answered, "You shouldn't become too strong at the moment and that you should pick up more skills as you move on." I chose Shadow Clone Jutsu, the Kamehameha Wave and the Fire Shunshin where instead of shunshining with leaves as most Konoha ninja do it's with flames. "I chose that so I could look badass," is the reason I gave for that skill. Summoning was next and I was given enough knowledge to make myself a seal master. I was also able to choose what summoning contract I wanted to sign. I wanted to choose the fox contract but after learning that Kyuubi was the boss summon of the fox clan and that I would need to summon her so she could approve I decided not to sign it. I didn't want to muck up the seal if I summoned her. In fact the reason why Kyuubi went nuts is because a large shard of Soul Edge smashed into the fox. It seemed that the Bijuu were guardians of the elemental countries. So I asked if, as a side quest, to free Kyuubi from the piece of the Soul Edge that was corrupting her. She said if it was possible. So instead of the foxes I decided to ask for a custom summoning contract. I called it "The Element Summoning Contract". There were over 20 summons on the scroll. She also allowed for me to choose a summoning jutsu. I chose a jutsu that summoned big angel wings. It was called "Sylpheed Wings". I thought it was cool.

Next was choosing a bloodline limit. This was hard as I had so many to choose from. I finally chose one where if I touched an object, I would instantly be able to use and master it. For example. If I pick up a musical instrument that I've never played, I would be able to play it and use it perfectly. Or if I picked up a sword, I would know all the forms and be able to preform them flawlessly. However that is only to use them. It doesn't mean that I would have the strength or the physical aspects that I might need to correctly use the object. The goddess though that was very fair and complemented me on the choice.

After all was finished she handed me Soul Calibur to use as a weapon. She explained that it could shape shift into whatever weapon I wanted and that it would be useful to find a shard of Soul Edge. She also explained that it would act as a communicating device in case I needed to ask questions or if I just wanted to talk. She said this last part with a wink in my direction. I turned around so she couldn't see me blush. After I had controlled myself I asked her, "Do you have a name?"

She smiled softly and nodded. "You can call me Sophie,"

I smiled back. "Sophie, that's a nice name," I said. For a moment I thought I saw her blush faintly but it must've been my imagination. I looked down at Soul Calibur. The sword was in its original form which was exactly the same design as the Soul Calibur seen in the fourth game of the Soul Calibur series. I decided that until I was able to physically wield the sword in its original form I would change it into a broadsword shape. I willed it into that shape and then looked down. The sword was now roughly 46 inches long. The blade was 40 inches long and 2 inches wide. The handle was 6 inches long and had a white strip of cloth wrapped around the handle all the way to the hilt. On the end of the handle was the blue spherical jewel that seemed to radiate with blue light. The blade looked like a blue, shimmering crystal had been fashioned into the shape of a sword. It reminded me strongly of a sword in Final Fantasy X called the Brotherhood, at least that's what I think it was called. 'Oh well,' I thought as I did a few practice swings before sliding it into a white sheath that Sophie supplied. Like the sword, the scabbard could also shape shift. Finally she gave me knowledge to pass the Genin Exam when I enter for the test, as well as the Replacement Jutsu and the Henge. I asked if I could keep my iPod and she agreed, even upgrading it so it would never run out of battery power. She also upgraded the earphones so if I turned the volume up the earphones acted like powerful speakers without damaging them. She also handed me a wallet that looked like a fox. "The walled will never run out of money but try to restrain yourself from going on a big shopping spree," she smiled at me.

"Well, that seems all finished. Do you have anymore questions before I send you to a point roughly a mile away from the gates of Konoha?" Sophie asked. I shook my head. She smiled at me. "Ok. I will keep you updated from this end. Talk to you soon," she said before I was swallowed by light.

(Cue Song Daylight of Konoha from Naruto Original Soundtrack II)

I felt my feet touch the ground and I opened my eyes. I found myself on the side of the path leading to the giant gates of Konoha. Feeling the excitement welling up inside of me I started walking towards the entrance. I eventually got to the gates and two ninja jumped in front of my way. I recognised them as the two Chunnin that were weeding out the weaklings before the First Test of the Chunnin Exam. 'Izumo and Kotetsu. No doubt I'll see them again,' I thought.

"Halt and state your business in Konoha," said Izumo, trying to sound important.

I smiled warmly and said, "I'm here to see the Hokage about citizenship in Konoha and permission to enter the Ninja Academy." Izumo and Kotetsu looked at each other before looking back at me. "Wait here. We'll have ANBU escort you to Hokage-sama," said Kotetsu. I didn't have long to wait before an ANBU appeared. She, this much was obvious, had a cat mask on. 'Must be Yuugao Uzuki,' I thought. I saw the long dark purple hair flowing round her head. 'Yep, definitely Yuugao,'

"What's going on here?" she asked. Izumo answered. "He's here to see the Hokage, ANBU-san," Yuugao looked at me then beckoned with her hand. "Well come on. Let's go," she said, a bit disgruntled with having to baby-sit someone. As we walked through Konoha apparently there was a bit of a commotion. I was just about to ask what was going on when I found the source. Naruto's greatest prank. Painting of the Hokage stone faces. I started laughing and Yuugao looked round to ask what was so funny but she didn't need to as I just pointed at the monument. Even though her face was masked I got the feeling that she was also smirking. Pretending not to know all the details I asked, "Who did that? He must be good,"

"His name is Naruto and he's a ninja-in-training delinquent," was all she said. We stayed in silence as we made our way to the Hokage tower. 'I'm having a blast seeing Konoha for the first time. It's definitely a lot livelier than I thought it would be,' I thought. We arrived at the tower and started to climb. There were so many steps. 'I wish I could just chakra walk up this damn tower.' Eventually we reached the floor we needed to be on and stopped outside his office. The secretary looked at me as Yuugao explained that I was here to see the Hokage.

"Well you're in luck. There's a spot open now if you're ready to go in?" said the kind secretary. "Thank you, miss," I said as she opened the door. I walked inside. At the opposite end was the old man. After thanking his secretary he got up and cast a privacy jutsu on the room. I looked around, confused before Sarutobi smiled kindly at me. "Well it seems that you are Josh,"

"How did you…" I began to say but his answer cut me off. "I had a visit from your friend Kami-sama,"

"Ooooh. Then I guess you are briefed on the situation?" I asked.

"Yes I am. Kami gave me two sheets of paper. The first one was a fake ID for the records and the second was your details on your real skills. I've already filled out the form for your citizenship and I was just about to contact the Academy to have you transferred. If you are free now we'll go to the class that's graduating tomorrow."

I stood up and bowed. "Thank you for being so understanding about this Hokage-sama." Sarutobi shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I won't go against Kami-sama. Not today anyway. And you can just call me Sarutobi."

"Very well Sarutobi," I answered. "By the way, you do know that I know of the presence of Kyuubi inside of Naruto and that the Kyuubi is not evil at all, but under possession of a shard of Soul Edge?"

Sarutobi nodded. "The last one really threw me for a loop. I almost had a heart attack when she said that she was Kami." I laughed. "I had a similar reaction myself. Sophie seems to like surprising people."

"Oh so that's her real name eh? Well, I just want to say thank you for wanting to be Naruto's friend, even if it's just to help you with your task," said Sarutobi. I looked him in the eye and said, "Even if that wasn't the case, I would still be his friend." Sarutobi smiled warmly at me and said, "Thank you. That means a lot to me and I'm sure it will mean a lot to Naruto as well. Now let's get going," He cancelled the privacy jutsu and, beckoning for me to follow, we walked out of the office.

We reached the academy and Sarutobi made the arrangements. When he was finished, he beckoned for me to follow. We both walked to the classroom where Iruka teaches. The old Hokage opened the door and we stepped inside. Apparently Umino Iruka had caught Naruto because said blond was tied up in front of the class.

"Hokage-sama, what brings you here today?" asked Iruka when he saw Sarutobi standing in the doorway. The Third walked into the room and whispered something in his ear and after a moment he nodded. He then turned to the class who were staring at Sarutobi and I. "Class, we seem to have a new student to participate for tomorrow's gennin test. I would like you to meet Josh Ryu Kitsune," he said as he introduced me. I looked at the class and spotted most of what would become the Rookie 12. Nara Shikamaru was looking like he had just woken up. He looked at me as I smiled at him. I caught a hint of the word, "Troublesome," before he went back to sleep. Akimichi Chouji was on his right, eating a packet of chips. He returned my smile. Next row down I could see Hyuga Hinata. Man she really was cute. As I smiled at her she looked down, blushing a bit. Up on the top row I spotted Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. Kiba was talking to Akamaru and then looking at me, then talking to each other. Shino was just looking at me impassively. To the window side I saw that teme, Uchiha Sasuke. What a perfect example of emo. He was looking at me as if to say, "He wouldn't last two seconds against me but he might have secrets I can use to beat _him_." Typical Sasuke. In front of the brooder was everyone's favourite violent banshee, Haruno Sakura. If I could predict her thoughts, she would be thinking that I'm no match for Sasuke-kun. Sitting next to Shikamaru was Yamanaka Ino. She wasn't as bad as Sakura and was definitely stronger that pinkie but she could use some more work. And finally there was Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who wanted to become Hokage. Currently he was looking at me. I could sense what was coming.

"Hey there! My names Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna be Hokage!" he said strongly. I decided to play along for a bit. "Oh! Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Future Hokage of Konoha," I said with sincere respect as I bowed my head slightly. Suddenly I felt everyone looking at me. Naruto on the other hand gave me his foxy grin. The resident banshee decided to speak up.

"There's no way in hell he'll become Hokage!" she yelled at the both of us, mostly to Naruto than me. His eyes took up a pained expression as his crush yelled at him again. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Sarutobi beside me. "I have to go now. Paperwork, you understand." I smiled at him. "Why don't you just use Kage Bushin's to do the work?" The man known as the professor and God of Shinobi looked at me, wide eyed for a moment before laughing loudly. This got everyone's attention. The old man clapped a hand on my back and said, "I should've known. I must finally be getting to that age. Thank you Josh, I'll see you later." And with that he walked out of the room but his voice could be heard loudly. "I got you now you evil bastards!"

(Cue Song Afternoon of Konoha from Naruto Original Soundtrack II)

I laughed softly. Iruka joined in, but soon settled back into being a teacher. "Okay class, because a certain someone missed today's lesson, you shall now review the Henge no Jutsu. I'll call out your name and one by one you shall come down and transform into an image of me. Okay, first up is Haruno Sakura."

The bitchy little weakling walked to the front of the class. She pauses briefly to look and blush at Sasuke-emo sitting by the nearby window. When she got to the front of the class she quickly shouted to the boy "Watch this Sasuke-kun" before putting her hands into a seal and calling out "Henge no jutsu!" There is a poof of smoke and in her place is a perfect copy of Iruka. Another poof of smoke and a jumping Sakura is seen. "Did you see Sasuke? Did you?" she cries before running back to her seat. Sasuke just looks aside, oozing arrogance so thick it was palpable.

"Uchiha Sasuke," sounded Iruka's voice.

The boy in question stood up and slowly walked to the front of the class, his body language screaming 'This isn't worth my time'. With little or no effort whatsoever he made the seal and drawled "Henge no Jutsu", and a poof of smoke later revealed another perfect Iruka copy. The second poof of smoke showed the boy with his hands in his pockets, clearly not bothered at all by the task. And so the names were called out one by one, each student coming to the front of the class and performing a perfect transformation.

"Kitsune Josh," Seems like it was now my turn. I walked up the front where I was sitting next to Naruto. I had decided to talk to him after school. I put my hands into the right seal and said "Henge no Jutsu," and a poof of smoke later revealed myself as a perfect Iruka copy. I poofed back and started walking back to my seat when Iruka stopped me. "Josh, since you are new here, could you tell me a bit about your skills?" I nodded and whispered into his ear. "I know the Henge, Replacement, Kage Bushin, Flame Shunshin and my two secret techniques, The Kamehameha Wave and the Sylpheed Wings." Iruka at first looked stunned that I knew Kage Bushin but frowned in confusion at the last three that I said. I knew that he knew what the Shunshin was but was probably taken back that it was a flame one. 'And I'm sure that no-one knows the Kamehameha Wave or Sylpheed Wings.' I thought. I then walked back to sitting next to Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto" said Iruka.

Naruto huffed in irritation and walked to the front of the class. A smile flicked across his face. I knew what was coming. He gathered his chakra and formed the seals. Like the others, there is a poof of smoke and sound, but unlike the others, this transformation revealed a buxom naked blonde girl blowing a kiss in a revealing position. Iruka's eyes bugged and he shot back as his nostrils fired out a large fountain of blood, flying in a comical fashion in the direction of his desk. Naruto laughed as he released the jutsu "Hahahahahaha, I call that one my Oiroke no jutsu. Pretty cool huh?" Iruka quickly recovered from his massive nosebleed and used his special 'Demon Head' to yell at Naruto. "You Dumbass, don't invent stupid skills!" roared the teacher. The force of Iruka's yell blew Naruto's hair back and the whole thing would have been very impressive if it hadn't been for the two pieces of twisted tissue Iruka had jammed up his nose to prevent his fainting from blood loss.

(Cue song Stay by Fat Jon from Samurai Champloo OST - Departure)

At the end of the day I went in search of Ichiraku's Raman, knowing that Naruto and Iruka would show up there later. After a few hours I found it on the main street. By this time it was early evening and I decided to grab something to eat while I was waiting. I ducked under the cloth flaps and spotted Ayame at the front of the bar. Teuchi was probably cooking in the back. 'The smell of raman is so good,' I thought.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's Raman Stand!" Ayame said brightly as I took a seat. I smiled at her. "Ah so this is the infamous Ichiraku's eh?" Ayame smiled and said, "I didn't think we were infamous," She turned to the back. "Did you dad?" she called. Teuchi's head pocked over the short wall. "No, I didn't know either. So what will it be?" he asked me. "Two large bowls of chicken raman please," I replied. Teuchi nodded and went to work.

"So, you new in town?" asked Ayame. I nodded. "Just got in today. I'm at the Ninja Academy." She nodded back. "By the way, Naruto will be coming here soon. You better get ready," Her brown eyes widened slightly and she nodded while smiling knowingly.

As I sat eating my raman I talked to Ayame. There were no customers besides myself so she was free to converse with me. We manly talked about Naruto. It wasn't long before Naruto and Iruka walked into the stand. "Hi Naruto!" I said happily. Naruto looked at me and smiled widely. "Hey there….Josh, right?" he said. I gave him the thumbs up. "I was just enjoying some ramen. I guess you're here for some too?" Naruto flashed me a foxy grin and said "I like you! People who like ramen can't be bad." I laughed. "Thank you. I like you too. Want to be friends?" I asked. The blond boy nodded. Naruto and Iruka sat down next to me and Naruto ordered a large bowl of miso pork ramen as he took off his green goggles and placed them on the counter. Iruka ordered a bowl of beef ramen.

"Naruto, why did you vandalize such a place? You know what the Hokages are, right?" asked Iruka after finishing his mouthful of ramen. Naruto looked up at him, slurping up a large quantity of noodles into his mouth and finishing them with a large gulp.

"Of course I do. In other words, those who carried the name of Hokage were the number one ninjas in the village, right? And I hear the Fourth one is a hero who protected the village from a monster fox."

"Then why did you…?"

"Because I'm going to surpass them all. Some day I'm gonna be Hokage, the greatest Hokage this village has ever seen. Then I'm going to make everyone in the Village recognize my powers." Iruka paused from his meal and looked at his student, a puzzled expression on his face with a noddle sticking out of his mouth, then smiled.

Naruto turned to me and said, "You believe me, right? In class, you called me Future Hokage. Did you really mean it?" I put down my bowl and turned to him. "Yes, I do. I'm very good at reading people's natures just by looking at them. When I look at you, I sense that you are fiercely loyal. That you support your friends. And that you try your best at everything you do." Naruto gave me this huge grin, so big that he had to close his eyes. Then he turned to Iruka.

"By the way Sensei, I have a favour to ask." Iruka looked at the blond, then at his empty bowl. "You want another bowl?" he asked. Naruto shook his head then clapped his hands together "Could I borrow your leaf headband, just to try it on please pretty please"

"Oh this thing…" Iruka brought his hand to his headband "…sorry, but this is proof that you have graduated school and that you're a real ninja. You'll get yours tomorrow."

Naruto pouted. "Stingy!" Iruka laughed and said, "Is that why you took your goggles off?"

"I want another bowl!" yelled Naruto. I laughed as Iruka opened his wallet and sighed in defeat. "Don't worry Iruka, I'll rescue you." I turned to Naruto. "In celebration of our new friendship, I'll pay for Naruto's next 5 bowls!" I declared. Naruto whooped for joy as Iruka and I laughed at his antics.

"By the way," said Iruka as he focused on me, "I've never seen white hair on someone so young, and you seem so mature for your age." I smiled warmly at him. "Thanks, Iruka-sensei." "Also, what are the two last jutsus you told me in class?" he asked. Naruto also listened in.

"Normal shunshin is done with leaves right?" Iruka nodded in acknowledgement. "Well mine is with flames instead." Iruka nodded in understanding. "I guess you have fire element manipulation then." Iruka confirmed. I nodded.

"Ano sa, ano sa, Iruka-sensei, what does shunshin mean?" asked Naruto. Iruka automatically moved into his lecture mode. "The technique, Shunshin, is a teleportation jutsu. It allows you to move short distances almost instantaneously. Normally Shunshin looks like a puff of white smoke as you disappear. Leaf ninja prefer a whirlwind of leaves spiralling round themselves for a second before dispersing after the jutsu is executed. This tends to be showier. But people who have strong elemental sides can customize their shunshin in their element. Josh, would you demonstrate for us?" Iruka asked. I nodded and focused on the other side of the street and preformed the jutsu. Flames erupted around me, swirling around me before I felt pulled toward the spot I visualised. My feet met firm ground instantly afterwards. I then flame shunshined back to my seat. Iruka looked impressed. Ayame looked at me in awe and Naruto just flung his arms around me screaming, "Can you teach me that jutsu, please, please, please, please, please, please!!"

"Calm down Naruto," I said as I pried him off me. "I will eventually okay?" This seemed to pacify him for the moment as he went back to his ramen. Iruka spotted my sword and asked, "That's an interesting sword. Mind if I have a look?" I nodded and unstrapped the sword and slowly pulled it out. Iruka looked in open mouthed wonder as the sword came out. I only pulled it out half way before sliding it back into its white sheath and strapping it back to my waist. "That has got to be the most beautiful sword I have ever seen. You should show it to one of my previous students. I would know she would like to study the sword," he said. 'Probably Tenten,' I thought.

Iruka stood up. "Well it's getting late. I'll see you two tomorrow for the test ok?" I nodded and Naruto turned in his seat. "Bye Iruka-sensei!" he called before returning to his ramen again. Deciding that it was time for me to find a hotel I paid for Naruto's ramen, leaving a generous tip before saying goodbye to Naruto.


	2. Chapter 2: Proof of a Friend

Chapter 2: Proof of a Friend

**Chapter 2: Proof of a Friend**

I woke up and opened my eyes, hoping that yesterday was not a dream. I gazed at the unfamiliar ceiling, eventually sitting up to look at my surroundings. I was lying on a bed that was too soft for my own bed. A TV stood at the end of my bed, but it was not my TV. There was a bookcase in the corner but none of my books or my pictures was resting inside the shelves. I decided that my dream was real. Just then the alarm clock rang, signalling that it was now 7:30. The gennin test would start at 9 so I decided to explore the town. After cleaning up I walked downstairs and out the door. Traders were opening up their stalls. I decided to find the weapons store where Tenten's father was at. I asked around and after 10 minuets of being directed I found myself standing outside the shop.

Entering the shop I heard the sound of bells ringing from a top of the door way. A big gruff looking man emerged from back of the room and appeared behind the counter. He had an outfit of a black smith, he was big and pretty buff. There seems to be some sort of dirt or smudge on top of his bald head, a little dust on his beard and moustache. His brown eyes stared at him for a moment before his lips turned upwards into a smile. "Welcome to Higarushis Weapon's Store kid, how can I help you?"

"Just looking around sir,"

He waved his hands in the air in a welcoming gesture as I began looking around. There were so many unusual weapons but I just needed get some kunai and shuriken. I walked into the isle that held the basic ninja weapons. There were so many types. Different metals, different styles. Some were even in different colours. I decided to get Naruto a present and so I picked up two sets of high quality kunai and shuriken. I also picked up a black Ninja pouch for myself. Looking in the scrolls section I found some black, empty summoning scrolls. Grabbing four and a bottle of ink and brush I walked back to the counter I placed the items in front of the big man.

"That's two sets of high grade standard Kunai, two sets of high grade standard Shuriken, four ANBU grade, reusable summoning scrolls and standard ink and brush. That all comes to 8250 ryo," he said as I dug out my fox shaped wallet. While I was counting out the money he asked, "Are you a ninja academy student?" I nodded. "I'm just here for the gennin exams." I decided not to show him my sword as he would probably ask questions I wouldn't know the answers to. I finished counting the money and handed the wad of cash to the man. "There you go sir,"

"Call me Tenchu," he said while giving me a grin.

"Ok, Tenchu-san," I replied as I exited the store. Walking over to a bench I spread out my items and started organising them. First I opened my black ninja pouch and placed my set of kunai and shuriken inside. Then I opened one of the blank scrolls and, using the ink and brush, I drew a summoning seal and sealed Naruto's kunai and shuriken set inside it. I then wound up the used scroll and placed it and the writing utensils in my new pouch. Strapping the pouch to my side I opened my white trench coat and noticed a few places to put my unused scrolls. After all was done I looked at the clock on my iPod and saw it said 8:30. I started to run, hoping I would not be late.

At 8:45 I walked into the class. The Academy had been closer than I thought. Looking around I saw the entire rookie 9. I decided to sit next to Hinata.

"Hey Hinata, remember me?" I asked. She seemed not able to talk so she just nodded. I smiled at her. "Don't worry Hinata. You'll pass!" I said having complete confidents in her. She just blushed harder and turned away. Having nothing else to do I brought out my iPod and started listening to music. The song was Big Chevy by Timo Maas, a famous Electronica artist in my own world. I started tapping my foot on the floor as the bass burst out of my ear-hug-phones. Slowly Hinata became aware of the music and looked at me questioningly. I took of my right one and fixed it round her own right ear. I then changed the song to something that I thought she would like. This song was called Clocks by Coldplay.

She closed her eyes as she listened to the music flowing out of the speaker and into her ear. It seemed that she enjoyed the song. Her head started nodding slightly to the beat. She was so taken with the music that she didn't know that we had drawn a crowd. Ino and Sakura were looking entranced at the scene. Kiba was throwing dirty looks at me. The song then ended and she opened her eyes only to notice everyone looking at us. She jerked away, the ear-hug-phone falling off her ear and clattered on the floor. I smiled and returned the ear-hug-phone to my ear but not before I heard "T-that was a-an n-nice song, thank y-you," from the midnight blue haired, shy girl. I was about to say thanks when Iruka walked in.

"QUIET!" he shouted over all the talking that had started up over Hinata and I. The class immediately quieted down, and Iruka took a deep breath, before continuing. "Today is this year's annual genin exam." He looked around at the class to gauge everyone's reactions. I looked around too. They all appeared collected; a few seemed to be a little nervous. Uchiha Sasuke fixed him with a confident smirk.

"I expect all of you to do well. For many of you, this is your first time taking the exam. For those of you who are taking it for a second time, I hope the extra practice has prepared you sufficiently." He glanced at Naruto, which unfortunately many of the class seemed to catch. He gave Naruto an apologetic look, as some in the class snickered.

"The exam will consist of a short written exam, which I'm sure many of you have prepared for. However, this will only count for 1/6 of the test. The majority of the test will be outside, when it comes to shuriken and kunai targeting counting for 1/6 each, as well as ninjutsu test in bushin, kawarimi, and henge each counting for 1/6 themselves. You will need at least 4/6, or 66 in order to pass the exam.

"This test is to make sure that you have the minimum proficiency in academy level skills. An ideal ninja would be able to get 100 percent on tests, showing proficiency in all areas. However, that is a little much to expect of a genin fresh out of the academy, so we are more forgiving. All genin who pass this exam however are expected to practice the skills they did poorly in until they have complete mastery over the skill," he continued.

I looked at Iruka as the Chunnin instructor walked to the door of the classroom to answer a knock. "Today Mizuki-sensei will be helping me proctor the test to make sure none of you are cheating, and to make sure everything goes by quickly and smoothly." announced Iruka.

'That traitor!' I thought darkly. He had shoulder length silver hair, and had a ready smile for most of the class. He waved to them and gave them a simple "good luck everyone. Hopefully by tomorrow you will all be genin."

With that, Iruka and Mizuki divided up the tests and began to hand them out to the class. There were three different versions of the test, each person on a table had a different version to prevent cheating. I got version C. It seems that Hinata had version B.

"You have exactly 45 minutes to finish this test." announced Iruka, looking at his watch. "Mizuki and I will be walking amongst you to make sure nobody is cheating."

I ducked my head and looked at the questions. They were fairly simple, if the first three of them were any measurement.

#1. State ninja rule number 25, and explain it's importance to today's ninja's in the field.

#2. Explain what chakra is.

#3. Explain what a Hokage is, and what important role this person fulfills in the Fire Country.

'Easy,' I thought as I started writing. When I had finished the 20th question I still had 10 minutes to spare. As I flipped my test sheet over I decided to look around to see how everyone else was doing. Shikamaru was sleeping on his desk, the pencil beside him. Chouji was filling out the questions pretty easily it seemed, taking his time with each one and eating a bag of potato chips in between questions.

Shino and Hinata were already done, and Kiba was smirking as he wrote his answers down. Sakura and Ino and Sasuke were all already finished as well. Someone was blocking my view of Naruto. I knew though that the ninjutsu would crush a lot of hopefuls, as would the targeting test.

After the test we all walked outside to complete the targeting in the training grounds. We lined up and were all told to have 5 shuriken and 5 kunai ready. We each stepped up in turn and tried to hit the 5 bullseyes on the targets for each of the weapons.

Naruto and I glared when Sasuke decided to show off and throw all five of each at the same time, 5 kunai with one hand and 5 shuriken with the other, and nailed all of the targets.

"Sasuke-kun is so cool!" squealed one of his fangirls.

It was now my turn. I opened my pouch and some people gasped softly at the high spec tools I was using. I decided to be careful rather than showy. I took aim and launched my kunai, then my shuriken. Nine out of ten hit the target dead on. I heard someone clapping and I turned to see that it was Naruto who was clapping. I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment as I walked out of the way.

Naruto then stepped up. Knowing that Mizuki would try something I focused my attention on him. Naruto took a deep breath and threw his kunai first, quickly but carefully. He nodded as he saw them travel to exactly where he aimed them, but abruptly laughter broke out from the students behind him. Naruto blinked, and realized... he'd missed the training targets completely? All 5 of his kunai were in the dirt several yards behind where the targets were. I saw Mizuki tampering but I didn't know how he did it. It was probably Genjutsu. Naruto shook himself and pulled out the shuriken. He took another calming breath, and released his shuriken but again; all of his airborne weapons missed the targets completely, and landed off in the dirt past the targets.

The class all laughed again, and jeers of "Dobe!" and "Nice aim, dead-last!" were shouted from the students. Naruto hung his head in shame, too embarrassed to look at his classmates. That's where I snapped.

"Are you all so weak that you have to jeer and put people down just to make yourself feel better!? If that is the case then you don't deserve to be leaf ninja!" I said angrily. That shut everyone up. Naruto looked at me and smiled sadly before going off to the side.

When the class calmed down, we were all told to line up in the hallway outside the regular classroom while each student stepped inside to complete testing. As my name was called, I took a step inside to see Iruka and Mizuki sitting and smiling at me.

"Okay Josh, I'm going to need you to perform a Henge to look like me, a Kawarimi, as well as 2 bunshin." said Iruka.

I nodded and performed the Henge. Iruka nodded and marked something down on his clipboard. After the kawarimi, it was the same thing. And then I performed the regular bushin and made five clones for added effect. Iruka smiled and said, "Well Josh, you passed."

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei," I said, thanking him as I walked up to claim my hitai-ate. I chose a black one with long straps, like Naruto's in the second series. As I was tying the forehead protector around my head Iruka said, "Thank you for what you did for Naruto," I finished up and smiled at him. "That's what friends are for."

As I exited out of the classroom Naruto and Hinata looked up to see me wearing my new accessory. Naruto smiled at me and said, "Cool Josh! It looks great on you!" I smiled back and said "Thanks. I wish you luck," Even though I knew he wouldn't pass because of Mizuki tampering I still wished him luck. As Hinata's name was called I walked up to her and whispered in her ear, "Good luck," She walked into the room with a blush on her face.

Now I needed to find that shack where Mizuki would tell Naruto to take the forbidden scroll. I rushed out of the building and past the group of parents waiting for their children to come out. I then figured that it would be better to follow Naruto instead. So when I was out of sight I henged into a small, black fox and, making sure I wasn't seen, I made my way back to the Academy.

I arrived as Naruto was coming out, down trodden and sad. He sat on the swing, watching the others. I grew pissed at some of the whispers I heard from the older crowd, about how they were _glad _he failed. 'Stupid villagers.' I thought darkly. This was how Mizuki found Naruto, on the swing, his legs barely touching the ground beneath him.

The older man put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, and when the boy luck up behind him at the smiling Chuunin, Mizuki put his plan into action.

"You know Naruto, Iruka only made that decision because he wants you to grow into a strong ninja for the leaf. You shouldn't let it discourage you."

The boy nodded glumly for a moment before turning away to think things over. But Mizuki wasn't done yet.

"Wait, Naruto. You can prove to Iruka that you're ready to become a genin now if you are determined enough."

This stopped the boy in his tracks, and he excitedly turned around towards Mizuki. "How, Mizuki-sensei?"

I scowled as I could just picture Mizuki's hidden smile. "There is a second, less common way to become a genin. It was what the villages used to do in the days before academies. All you have to do is prove your skills in the field. To do this, there is a scroll in the Hokage's tower that is kept there in a special room, guarded by genjutsu and traps. In the old days, it was traditional for the aspiring ninja to take this scroll out of the tower and learn at least one skill from the scroll, and deliver it to the Chuunin testing him without the Hokage, or other ninja's in the village stopping him." He continued.

"So I need to take a scroll from the Hokage tower and learn something from it? I can do that. I'll go get it now!" declared Naruto, about to hurry off to the tower.

Mizuki quickly pulled the boy back. "Not yet!" he snarled. Realizing he may have come on a bit strongly, he calmed himself down. "A few tips for you: Do it tonight when less people are around. then when you get this scroll, which will be on the third floor of the Hokage tower at the far end of the hall, you'll head northwards into the forest behind the Hokage monuments. You'll find an old shack in a clearing about 5 minutes in. I'll be waiting there for you." He winked and walked away from the boy.

'Now that I know where that shack is, I'll set up camp there and wait for Naruto. There's a possibility that Iruka won't find him in time so I need to protect Naruto.' I thought as I sped off in the direction of the Hokage Tower.

As the traitor said, the shack was about 5 minutes in. There was heavy brush on either side of the clearing so I hid in the bushes and started waiting. Knowing that I had roughly a few hours until Naruto arrived I settled into a comfortable position and listened to music. I turned the volume right down so I would be alerted to any action.

2 ½ hours later

I sensed someone running towards the shack. I stopped the music and peeked out of the bushes. It seemed that Naruto had found the spot. Strapped to his back was the Forbidden Ninjutsu Scroll of Konoha, otherwise known as the 'Scroll of Sealing'. He plopped down next to a large tree and unfurled the big scroll.

"Let's see, the first jutsu is… Kage Bushin…. Man!? The only technique I'm no good at?" he yelled in frustration before having a closer look. "But it says _Kage_ bushin…maybe this is different." I laid on my back. It would be another hour before he learnt the technique.

1 hour later

Naruto was panting from extorsion. 'Learning the technique went well for him,' I thought as I felt another presence arrive. I peeked out again and saw Iruka jump into the clearing. Naruto was too tired to notice the chuunin teacher walk up to the blond.

"Hey, Naruto," said Iruka with an evil glint in his eyes as well as a twitch. Naruto looked around and rubbed the back of his head and laughed softly. Iruka lost the evil look in his eyes and adopted a confused look as Naruto stood up, the scroll once again strapped to his back.

"Oh man, I got caught. I only managed to learn one technique," said Naruto. Iruka looked surprised at his worn-out student.

"Now I'll show you a great technique and you'll graduate me if I can do it! If I show you a jutsu from this scroll, I can graduate, right?"

Iruka was stunned. "Who said that?"

"Mizuki-sensei. He told me about this place and this scroll…" Naruto trailed off as he saw the look of horror on his teacher's face. 'It's just about Showtime,' I thought as I felt that asshole arrive.

(Song Cue: Crimson lake from King of Bandits Jing: OST)

A barrage of kunai whipped through the clearing as Iruka pushed Naruto out of the way. The kunai, although not very accurate, stabbed into Iruka with such force that the teacher was forced back until he hit the wall of the hut. The damage was light at worst. Only one was stuck in his leg.

"I'm surprised you found out about this place," said Mizuki as he revealed himself. "I see, so that's how it is," grunted out Iruka.

"Naruto, hand over the scroll," the traitor said. Naruto, his eyes wide, looked between Mizuki and Iruka. "Hey…What's going on here?"

Iruka ripped out the kunai in his leg and threw it away. Without taking his eyes of Mizuki he said, "Naruto, don't let him get the scroll no matter what. That's a dangerous scroll that has Forbidden jutsus. Mizuki used you so that he could get a hold of it!"

Naruto turned to Mizuki, glaring at him. Mizuki just looked at Naruto. 'Now he playes the Kyuubi card,' I thought as I started to get ready.

"Naruto, Iruka is afraid of you possessing that," grinned Mizuki. "What?" whispered Naruto in shock as he turned to look at Iruka. Still not taking his eyes off Mizuki, Iruka snarled. "What are you saying Mizuki?! Don't believe him Naruto!" Mizuki just smiled as he continued. "I'll tell you the truth." Iruka, realising the direction that this was going, yelled at the traitor. "Don't!"

"A law was passed after the incident that occurred 12 years ago."

Naruto looked confused. "A law?" he asked.

Mizuki's smirk grew wider. "It's a law that only you, Naruto, cannot find out about."

Naruto was again shocked. "Only me? What's the law?" "Stop, Mizuki!" Iruka yelled in a vain attempt to shut him up.

'Here we go,' I thought.

"It's a law not to say that Naruto is a Demon Fox!" said Mizuki triumphantly.

"What?" Naruto's eyes widened.

"In other words, you are the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox who killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village."

"Stop!" screamed Iruka.

"You've been deceived by the village people all this time. Didn't you think it was weird for everyone to hate you so much?"

"Damn it…" choked out Naruto. Unconsciously he began summoning up huge amounts of chakra that was visible to the eye. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" he cried out as the chakra flared round him.

"No-one's ever going to recognize you! Even Iruka hates you!" Mizuki unstrapped one of the huge shuriken and started spinning the weapon, aiming for Naruto. "Die, Kyuubi!" yelled Mizuki as he launched the shuriken. Seeing that Iruka was too far I jumped out of the bushes and landed in front of Naruto. "Take cover Naruto," I yelled as I unsheathed Soul Calibur and sliced the shuriken in half. The two pieces spun out of control, crashing into the trees.

I turned to look at Naruto and smiled at him. "You alright?" I asked softly.

Naruto only looked at me in confusion. "W-Why…?" he said.

"Because, I'm your friend, and I know you are no monster," I said simply. These words seamed to shake him to the core. "It's the same with Iruka. He doesn't hate you," I added. Naruto looked at Iruka to see him smiling kindly.

"Naruto," I said, bringing his attention back to me. "I need you to take the scroll away from here and hide. I'll find you after I deal with this traitor." Naruto nodded and he belted out of the clearing.

"Crap!" muttered Mizuki before taking off after him. "Oh no you don't!" I yelled and was just about to follow but I turned around. "Let's go, Iruka," I said to the scared teacher. He nodded as he henged into Naruto.

I watched Iruka as backup from the treetops and eventually I saw Mizuki behind him, henged into Iruka.

"Naruto!" said 'Iruka', "What Mizuki said back there was all a lie! Hand over the scroll to me! Mizuki is after it!" 'Naruto' propelled himself off a tree branch and slammed into 'Iruka', knocking the wind out of him. 'Iruka' flew to the ground as 'Naruto' expertly skidded to a stop.

"W-What…?" 'Iruka' gasped as 'Naruto' backed up againsed a tree and slid down it. "How… Naruto." 'Iruka' turned around, his teeth gritted in anger. "How," he continued as he was enveloped in smoke, revealing Mizuki. "… did you know that I'm not Iruka?"

'Naruto' just smirked as he poofed into Iruka. "Because _I'm _Iruka,"

Mizuki stood up, smirking as well. "I see." I spotted Naruto hiding behind a tree. I decided to let him deal out the punishment so I stayed out of this. But I continued to watch.

"What good is there in protecting the one who killed your parents?" asked Mizuki.

"I'm not going to let an idiot like you get that scroll," Iruka countered.

"You're the idiot. Naruto is the same as me. Anything is possible with that scroll. There's no way that Naruto, the Demon Fox, won't use its powers," explained Mizuki.

"Yeah, your right," agreed Iruka. I glanced at Naruto. He had buried his head into the scroll as sadness overtook him. But the next words shook that off.

(Song Cue: Key of the Twilight from .hack/SIGN Original Soundtrack 1)

"_If _he was a monster fox. But Naruto is different. He's… He's an excellent student that I recognize. He's a hardworking, earnest, clumsy, and no-one recognizes his worth. He knows the pain of others. He's not a monster fox. He's Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha!" Iruka finished. Naruto was in tears. He was blubbering so much it was a wonder to me that the others couldn't hear. Mizuki just stood there with a violent twitch above his left eye.

"Iruka, I was going to kill you later but I changed my mind. Die now!" yelled Mizuki as he started spinning his last giant shuriken. He then lunged at Iruka. In the blink of an eye, Naruto slid under the shuriken and upped kicked the traitor sending him flying as the shuriken shot into the forest.

"Damn you…" wheezed Mizuki as he stood up.

"Don't lay a finger on Iruka-sensei…" said Naruto darkly. "… or I'll kill you!"

"Talk while you can. I'll finish a kid like you in a flash," smirked Mizuki.

'You're fucked,' I thought as I saw Naruto make the familiar cross-shaped hand seal. "Try, jerk. I'll do a thousand times more damage back to you."

"Why don't you try it _if you can_, you demon!" taunted Mizuki.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto's voice rang throughout the forest. The whole area was filled with white smoke. When it cleared, the whole clearing was filled to bursting with Shadow Clones.

"What…?" spluttered Mizuki as I jumped over and landed next to Iruka. "You are about to witness a legend in the making," I said softly to the opened mouthed chuunin.

"What's the matter?" one clone yelled. "Come and get me!" called another. Mizuki was so scared shitless that he fell backwards. "If you're not coming… We're coming!" called out all the clones. Mizuki could only scream as the clones belted him to a pulp. By the end, the traitor's face was nothing but a mass of bruises.

"Nice beating Naruto! That was kick ass!" I called in his direction. He turned around as he scratched the back of his head. "Heh, heh. Maybe that was a bit overkill. Are you alright? Iruka-sensei,"

"He'll be fine Naruto," I said. Iruka smiled. "Naruto, come here for a second. I want to give you something."

Naruto walked over to us and knelt down. "Close your eyes." Naruto did so. Iruka with great precision, removed Naruto's goggles and tied his own Hitai-ate round the blonde's head. "Sensei, are you done yet?" Naruto asked as he tried to peek. "All right, open your eyes."

(Song Cue: Rainbow from Tsubasa Chronicle Original Soundtrack - Future Soundscape IV)

Naruto blinked as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He then stared at Iruka holding his goggles, headbandless. His eyes widened.

"Congratulations. You graduate," said Iruka softly. "All right, let's celebrate. I'll treat you both to ramen!" Naruto still hadn't said anything so Iruka opened his eyes to see what was wrong. In that instant he was dog piled by Naruto. "Iruka-sensei!" cried out Naruto in happiness. "Ouch! That hurts!" cried out Iruka in pain. Naruto backed away from him. "Opps," he said.

"Naruto. I have something for you too." I said as I reached into my pouch and retrieved the scroll that had Naruto's present in. I spread it out on the grass and channelled my chakra into the scroll. A puff of smoke later showed him his new kunai and shuriken set. He looked at me for a second before glomping me.

"Thank you Josh!" he said as he hugged me. I patted his head. "You're welcome," I then got up and walked into the clearing. "I'll just signal where we are," I said over my shoulder as I set my hands in front of me, as if I was holding a ball. I then started focusing the energy needed. The others looked on, wondering at what I was doing.

(Song Cue: The Dragon Theme from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. I)

"Kaaaa…Meeee…" I said as a ball of blue light appeared between my hands. A charging sound rang through the forest.

"Haaaa… Meeee…" I brought my hands beside me as the ball of light got bigger. The charging sound reached a peak.

"HAAAAAA!!" I yelled as I shot the ball of light vertically into the air. A beam of blue light shot through the air, smashing through the clouds creating a huge hole in the clouds. Moonlight shone through the hole to light up the clearing. The beam of light dissipated and I walked back to Naruto and Iruka who looked at me with open eyes and mouths.

"That, is the Kamehameha Wave."


	3. Chapter 3: No Shortcuts on the Hokage R

Chapter 3: No Shortcuts on the Hokage Road

**Chapter 3: No Shortcuts on the Hokage Road**

Iruka and Naruto asked me constant questions about the jutsu I just used as we were escorted back to the village. After explaining to the ANBU who found us that it was me that fired off the technique, I proceeded to tell Naruto and Iruka the properties of my special attack. "The energy wasn't chakra because chakra uncontained would just dissipate after leaving the body," said Iruka. "That's right. Because this move is done with pure physical energy. Chakra is a 50/50 mix of physical and spiritual energy. And there is mental energy as well as spiritual energy by itself. But I'm getting off track. Physical energy can also be used for intimidation purposes. Because physical energy doesn't dissipate for a while, you can flare it around yourself and the energy would be quite visible while you wouldn't be out of breath. Imagine the fear as your opponent sees the energy radiating off you without you breaking a sweat," I explained. Iruka nodded as the info slotted into place in his brain. "and, just like chakra, you can use this to speed up, deal more damage, or even fly." I added.

"You can fly?! Really?!" asked Naruto. I shook my head. "I haven't learned that far ahead," Naruto looked a little downcast but brightened up when he fiddled with his new shiny tools. We were silent as we made out way to Ichiraku's, Iruka splitting off as he needed to go to the hospital. He said that he would meet up with us later and also told us that we needed to get our pictures taken for the register. We were silent as we both dug into our meals until Naruto looked at me.

"You don't hate me for being….you know," he hesitantly asked. I finished with my mouthful and looked at him. "Of course not. Those villagers are blind idiots if they cannot see what I can see. And all I see is a kid who just wants to be recognized. In a good way. Without pulling pranks." Naruto nodded. "I'm glad that you are my friend," he said with a big smile. I smiled back. "I'm glad that you are too."

After the food was consumed we trouped off to the Hokage Tower to have our photo taken. I managed to persuade Naruto to go without the face paint on as it would make people not take him seriously. Naruto had his photo taken first, but when it was my turn I flared my physical energy before the shot was taken. The result was a very badass looking me. We then walked to the academy where the Hokage was taking in the registrations. We both entered the room and saw the old man at the front of the room. We both handed our documents to the aged leader.

At first he was surprised. "I'm impressed Naruto, I thought you would try to act all macho for your picture," Naruto mumbled something about 'first friends' and 'not allowed' but Sarutobi got the message. He winked at me before looking at mine. His pipe promptly dropped out of his mouth and clattered on the floor. It took a few moments for him to calm down. "Wow, Josh. You sure know how to intimidate someone," I smiled at the old Hokage. "Why thank you Sarutobi. I think I did a fine job myself,"

"By the way Naruto, where is your Hitai-ate?" Sarutobi asked as Naruto had switched it with his goggles at lunch.

"I'm not going to wear it until the explanatory meeting, since it will get scratched," explained Naruto.

Sarutobi straightened up as he cleared his throat a little. "Naruto, perhaps we should discuss-"

The Hokage stopped mid sentence as we all turned our sight to the door of the room a split second before it yanked open. A small dark haired boy with a strange headcap and a blue scarf that was about three feet too long jumped forward with a single shuriken in his hand.

"Jiji! I challenge you!" The boy called out as he started to run forward, only to suddenly fall flat on his face with a startled yelp. He began to roll back and forth, holding his face. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

'Oh joy, it's the runt,' I thought as I had completely forgotten about him. I allowed a small smirk to grace my face. Naruto was just staring in complete confusion, as a dark plain clothed man with sunglasses appeared in the doorway, looking slightly winded.

"Dang it! Did some kind of trap trip me?" The boy whined as he sat up, still holding his head.

"AH! Are you alright Honoured Grandson!?" The glasses man asked in anxiety. "And pardon my observation, but there are no traps here, it's completely flat." He said with a bit more composure as he adjusted his sunglasses.

Naruto was still looking on, with an eye twitching in complete disbelief.

The boy had finally gotten up, and looked around to spot me staring at him, but the glasses man noticed Naruto instead.

(Cue Song Fooling Mode by Toshiro Masuda from Naruto Original Soundtrack II)

"So it's you! You're the one who tripped me, didn't you!?" The boy pointed angrily.

'Oh great. Now he blames me for it,' I thought. "Sorry to disappoint kid, but I'm not _that_ fast," I said, even though I actually could be that fast. The boy then turned on Naruto. "It was you then!" The boy pointed at Naruto.

Naruto instantly got an angry tick mark above his right eye as he grabbed the boys scarf and lifted him off the ground.

"Uzumaki! Take your hands off him RIGHT NOW!" The glasses man shouted. "He is the Honoured Grandson of our great leader Sandaime Hokage-sama!"

Naruto then started looking between Sarutobi and the brat, as if trying to see the relation. He did look a little less aggressive though. The boy, thinking he could get away with it, smirked.

He puffed up his chest as best he could while hanging in mid-air. "Well what's the matter tough guy? I thought you were going to teach me a lesson! _Afraid _because the Sandaime Hokage is my ojiisan?" He mocked.

Naruto got a few extra tick marks on his face. "I DON'T CARE IF HE'S YOU'RE BAASAMA!" Naruto whirled the boy around in mid air, as his hand came down to the boys belt. Or to be more accurate, the boy's underwear. A vicious yank upward produced a high-pitched squeak from the boy, but Naruto had pulled a bit too hard. There was a rip as the material gave way to the force of momentum, causing the boy to somersault once before coming down to crash headlong into the floor.

I rushed to the boys side. "10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… HE'S OUT!! DING DING!!" I yelled as I walked over to Naruto's side. "AND THE WINNER IS UZUMAKI NARUTO!!" I continued to yell as I rased his fist to the air. A couple of puffs later and there appeared my personal Kage Bushin audience clapping and cheering for Naruto.

Sarutobi started chuckling as the glasses man gasped in horrified outrage as he glared at Naruto and I. 'Let him glare, Sarutobi won't let anything happen to us. Man I'm good,' I thought. Naruto grinned at me. "All right Naruto, let's go," I said as we walked out of the room.

As we walked down the main street Naruto looked at me. "Where are we going Josh?" he asked. "We are getting you some new clothes. Now that you are a ninja, you can't wear orange anymore."

"I know, but I can't buy anything else. The shops won't let me," said Naruto as his eyes dropped to the ground.

"Leave that to me Naruto. We are going to get you some ninja clothes," I said as we headed in the direction of a certain weapons store.

-Higarushi's weapons store-

(Cue Song Mada Mada Dane by WATABE Chierul from Prince of Tennis Original Soundtrack 2)

We walked through the door and into the shop. Tenchu looked up and saw us. "Hello there … uh I forgot to ask you what you're name was," he said sheepishly. I smacked my own head at my forgetfulness. "I'm sorry. Josh Ryu Kitsune is my name." Tenchu looked thoughtful. "That's an interesting name." He caught sight of Naruto who had taken to hiding behind me. "And who's your friend?" I turned to Naruto and gently pushed him in front of me. "This is Uzumaki Naruto. He's my friend and classmate. I came here to get some new clothes for him since he can't be a ninja in orange," Tenchu laughed softly as he gestured to the back of the store. "Well all clothes are in the back next to the weights."

I nodded. "Thanks Tenchu-san," I said as we moved to the back of the store. "Well Naruto, choose your outfit, and don't worry about the price," I said as I stood back to watch. Strangely enough, Naruto went with a black muscle shirt, black cargo pants, black, steal capped combat boots and white leather, fingerless gloves. Exactly what I was wearing, minus the white trench coat. I didn't comment on it, though I did insist that he get two of everything except the boots. I restrained myself from getting several sets of pre-made exploding notes. Naruto showed his purchases to Tenchu and he racked off the total to 4300 ryo.

"Thanks for that Tenchu-san," I thanked.

"You just come back for more supplies ok. And of course your friend, Naruto, can come in here anytime," said the big man and he got two smiles from us as we exited the shop.

As we were walking down the street I just had to ask. "So was there any reason you chose that attire?" Naruto looked at me. "I just wanted to be as cool looking as you," was his answer. I smiled. "Well we might as well get you a trench coat like mine then," I answered as we continued walking down the street. It wasn't long however before I felt Konohamaru behind us.

(Cue Song Trunks and Goten by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. III)

Eventually we both turned round to see what looked like a brown sheet made to match the ground bunched up in a ball. Two feet poked out from underneath.

'Oh man,' I sighed in my mind. Naruto groaned before turning back round and continued on, me following. We could still feel him behind us. "He's not even in sync with our footsteps," I whispered to Naruto. Naruto just got fed up with this and turned round only to see the kid up against the fence with a camouflage sheet covering 90 of him. Oh and the sheet was the wrong way around. His hands, feet and hair were sticking out the sides.

We both sweat-dropped slightly as Naruto walked over to stand in front of the 'hidden' boy, and deliberately pulled it down.

"So, I'm guessing that there's a reason you're following us?" Naruto asked with a cautious tone.

"Ha ha! So, you saw through my disguise! I see that your reputation is well-earned!" Konohamaru had a ridiculous smile on as he pointed to Naruto. "Alright! I'll be your apprentice, and you'll be my trainer!"

"Wait, what?" Naruto backed up a step. I started laughing hard.

"Yeah! You just gotta teach me how to do that Sexy Jutsu that you're rumoured to use!" Konohamaru hopped up and down in excitement, even as Naruto was trying to wave him off.

"Whoa, hold on, slow down! You've gotta be kidding me!" Naruto choked out.

"Come on, please? I really need a new trainer! Please, please, please won't you say yes Boss?" Konohamaru pleaded franticly.

"What? Boss?" Naruto tilted his head quizzically at the boy, who took it as a sign of interest.

"Yeah! That's right, you're the Boss! Boss, Boss, Boss!" The hyperactive child stamped his feet in determination. I was really trying my hardest not explode from laughing. "We can always get your coat later Naruto," I said while grinning.

Naruto sighed as he scratched the back of his head, looking down at the person in front of him. "Fine! But only because he felt sorry for you," he gave in while pointing at me.

"Oh come on. You just liked him calling you boss Naruto," I countered. He sheepishly looked at me before we all walked away.

(Cue Song Men's club by K-taro Takanami from Chobits OST 1)

"First, to use a ninja technique well, you need to use your Chatora well," said Naruto unaware of the grammatical error he had just made.

"Chatora (Brown Tiger)?" asked Konohamaru.

"Yes, that's right. Chato…" he was cut off as I slapped him upside of the head. "You idiot Naruto," I laughed, "it's Chakra. Not Chatora. _Chakra_,"

Naruto flinched, realising his mistake. "Shut up!" he said in an attempt to cover his tracks, "Good ninjas call it Chatora." I just slapped my head with my hand. 'Its going to be a long day,' I thought.

"What? So that's how it is," said Konohamaru in excitement. He didn't notice Naruto giving a long sigh.

"Listen, chakra is…" Naruto began but the kid cut in.

"Simply, it is the energy you use to execute a jutsu. In other words, ninjutsus use both body energy which is physical energy, and spirit energy, which accumulates through training and experience. Chakra is the mix of both energies. Afterwards, a seal is formed, and the jutsu is executed." This would have been impressive for a kid his age except that he was reading it all from a scroll. Naruto practically yelled that point in his face before continuing to walk.

"Although that scroll explains the technicalities about it, you just need two things to use a jutsu well," Naruto continued, pretending to be like Iruka.

"Two things?" asked Konohamaru.

"Hard work and guts."

"Hard work and guts, eh?"

"That's right. I'll train you hard, so prepare yourself," said Naruto.

"Osu Boss!"

"Alright then, try the henge jutsu now,"

"What?" asked the kid, clearly confused.

"I'll see how good your ninja jutsus are," explained Naruto.

"But what should I henge into?"

Naruto began looking around before I pointed to the bookstore. A beautiful dark red head in a blue kimono was looking into the shop. "Nice spotting Josh!" said Naruto before looking back at Konohamaru. "Ok, henge into that babe."

"Okay, Henge!" said the kid and he was covered in smoke. Since I knew what was coming I looked away, not wanting to damage my eyes. As such I was spared from an angry beating.

-Local bookstore-

"Okay! We're going to research pheromones at the bookstore!" said Naruto, a very prominent bruise on his head. Already knowing the outcome I just stayed outside while the two boys sneaked in.

-Local Bath House-

"This is the last place." Poor Naruto was now sporting a black eye. He turned to Konohamaru. "Let's put our spirit into it!"

"OSU, BOSS!" yelled the kid. They then both used the henge to transform into girls. Naruto obviously forgot to change his clothes as the two walked into the building. I stayed outside as usual. After a few seconds…

"AHHHHH!!"

"Naruto! You again!"

-Nearby Park-

Naruto looked like he had been through hell and back. "Why am I the only one getting pounded…"

Konohamaru looked sad. "Gomen. It's because I'm the grandson of the Hokage,"

"Don't worry about it. The preparation for the temptation no jutsu is now complete," said Naruto happily despite all the bruises.

"Osu, boss,"

"Ok, the basics is big, thin, big. Do it!"

"OSU, BOSS!!"

As Naruto was coaching I went in search of drinks. When I later returned Naruto was nodding while Konohamaru was panting on the ground.

"Hey guys! I got juice!" I called. Konohamaru yelled for joy and Naruto held back a bit, but not much. Soon we were all sitting on a log sipping the juice I got.

(Cue Song How Much Longer by tekcohtop remixed from Final Fantasy 7+10 -OverClocked ReMix-. Download from )

"By the way, why are you so obsessed with the old man Hokage?" asked Naruto. The kid looked a bit sad. "Ojiisan named me Konohamaru. After the ancient name of the village. He said it would bring me luck." He muttered. "You'd think that it would be easy to remember. But no one, not a single person in the whole village, ever calls me by my name. Because when they look at me, they don't see me. All they see is the Honoured Grandson of Hokage-sama." Konohamaru kicked a stone. Naruto's brow creased in concern at what he was hearing as he continued. "They don't see who I am, just who I'm related to. It's like I'm invisible, hidden away in Ojiisan's shadow, and I'm so sick of it. That's why... I want to become Hokage now, so people will know who I am!" Konohamaru balled up his fists on his knees in frustration. Naruto was struggling to keep his face neutral. There was a long silence between the three of us.

"Even if you became Hokage today, and even if everyone came to know who you are, tell me, would there be anything for them to respect?" Naruto asked at last.

"Eh, what?" Konohamaru looked up with slight surprise, having been startled from his moodiness.

"What's the point of having a title if you haven't done anything to earn it? All that will do is let everyone know just how much of a nobody you are!" Naruto scoffed.

"WHAT!?" Konohamaru jumped up to glare angrily at the blonde, who gave back a hard stare of his own.

"Why do you think everyone respects your ojiisan so much? It's not because of who he is, or his name, but because of what he's _done_. Because he's worked hard to gain the skill and experience necessary to hold the position of 'greatest ninja in the village'. You'll have to work your way up to get that." Naruto's serious face turned to a devilish smirk. "And of course, if you're going to prove you're the best... you'll have to get past me first before you get anywhere!"

Konohamaru could only blink with stunned silence at the challenge set before him.

I clapped softly. "That was a great speech but I'm afraid we have a party crasher," I said.

"I've found you!" Called a voice from above.

Up on a tree branch stood a black-dressed man with sunglasses. Naruto flinched under his icy stare.

Ebisu leapt down from the tree and approached the two boys.

"Honoured Grandson, it's time that you should return home." He announced with a confident tone as he adjusted his glasses. Konohamaru jumped up instantly.

"No way! I'm learning how to beat my ojiisan so I can get the title of Hokage! Don't get in my way!" The exceptionally loud boy shouted.

"Sounds like he doesn't want to go with you." Naruto commented

"Silence Uzumaki! I will not have you corrupting my student with your nonsense!" Ebisu snapped.

"Shut up! He's a better teacher than you are!" Konohamaru yelled, causing both Ebisu and Naruto to give a start. "At least I can understand his directions! He doesn't talk like a text book!"

"He's got a point," I put in.

"No, no Honoured Grandson, you must not listen to him. He can not teach you the things you need to know. To be Hokage, one must understand virtue, justice, ceremony, wisdom, loyalty, faithfulness, prudence and be skilled in a thousand jutsus! You don't even know one jutsu!" Ebisu rambled on, but Konohamaru had heard enough.

"Transform!" With a poof of smoke, where there was once a small dark haired boy, now stood a taller, older, nakeder, gorgeous dark haired girl. "How's THIS for a jutsu?" The girl called sweetly while posing.

Ebisu froze as his jaw dropped down, and he gave two full head-to-toe-to-head shivers. But he was still standing.

"Interesting. Did that look like a restrained reaction to you?" I whispered to Naruto as I eyed Ebisu curiously. "I think he needs an extra push. I'm sure you can see what I'm getting at," I finished with an evil glint in my eye that Naruto copied.

"WH-WH-WHAT KIND OF DISGRACEFUL JUTSU WAS THAT!?" Ebisu howled in outrage, despite a slight redness to his cheeks. "Such things are not fit for the eyes of a gentleman! I would never fall for such outrageous vulgarity! I am far above such things!" He declared. Ebisu reached over and grabbed at Konohamaru's scarf, trying to pull the boy away. "Honoured Grandson you must stop this at once! That Uzumaki gaki is turning you into a delinquent! Do you want to be seen as an imbecile!? Only with MY teachings will you gain the fast shortcut to becoming Hokage!" Ebisu pulled on the scarf in his hand. Naruto's eye twitched.

"No, no, no! Just leave me alone! Go away!" Konohamaru fumed as he struggled to pull in the opposite direction.

(Cue Song storm center by Shiro Sagisu from BLEACH Original Soundtrack I)

"**Kage Bushin no Jutsu!!"**

The dual shout caused the two feuding individuals to pause and look over in time to see dozens of clones of the both of us come into being spread across the field. Konohamaru's eyes looked like they were about to pop.

"WHHOOOAAA! This is... WOW! Incredible!" He gaped, looking back and forth to all the clones that were glaring at Ebisu.

"You dare to call yourself a sensei?" asked one.

"Though you have no regard for your student's opinions?" said another.

"And now you're lying about training him!?" growled a third.

"THAT'S DESPICABLE!" We all shouted in unison.

Ebisu sneered as he let go of Konohamaru, and walked out into the midst of our clones.

"Ha! I'm not impressed. I'm a Jounin, an elite ninja! I'm not some lightweight paper pusher like Mizuki!" He adjusted his glasses. "Oh yes, I heard all about your little night run! And for someone who was so worthless as to be dumped by your own teacher, you have no right to lecture me! Now, watch closely Honoured Grandson, and see how a real ninja defeats an upstart!" He took an anticipatory pose.

Konohamaru looked back and forth between our clones and Ebisu, before settling on the clone army.

"Come on boss, Nii-san..." He muttered.

Ebisu stood waiting in the middle of his opponents.

"Well? Ready?" He jibed.

"Transform!" The thirty or so clones called out as the field was covered in smoke. As the smoke cleared, Ebisu couldn't believe his eyes.

The field was now filled with thirty or so Konohamaru's.

Ebisu was too stunned to realize that they were all running around erratically, so he didn't notice where the real Konohamaru got lost in the commotion. Suddenly the group of boys came to a halt surrounding the dumbfounded Jounin.

"Well, what are you waiting for Four-Eyes-sensei? I thought you were going to teach Naruto and Josh a lesson!" One of the Konohamaru's shouted.

"But it seems you're getting cold feet!" Shouted another.

"Of course he is! If he mistakenly hits the real me, he's going to be in BIG trouble!" Jeered a third.

Ebisu was in an absolute panic and was sweating bullets. He rapidly scanned all the identical boys around him, desperately looking for any giveaway sign of which was the real Konohamaru. "Um, n-now then... Magomusuko-dono... You should... Um... Oh!" Ebisu suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out some change. "Why don't you get yourself a drink from the vending machines over there?" He asked hopefully.

"Josh already got me a drink!" All the Konohamaru's chorused.

"You know, he's looking a bit stressed out!" One said.

"Maybe he could think better if he had a drink!" Another added.

"Nah, we just need to take some pressure off him!" Suggested a third.

"Ok then, Transform!" They all shouted as Ebisu was again surrounded with smoke.

(Cue Song Sexiness from Naruto Original Soundtrack I -Play Once-)

This time, as the smoke dissipated, Ebisu found himself confronting a swarm of naked blonde and white haired girls who all began grabbing at him. Whatever they were saying was lost on Ebisu as he choked, shuddered, then was thrown out of their reach by the rocket that was his bloody nose.

As the unresponsive man lay twitching on the ground, a burst of smoke rose and cleared to reveal us smirking alongside an awe-struck Konohamaru.

"And that," Naruto turned to his companion, "Is called the stun-and-strike!" I finished as we slapped each other a high five.

"AWESOME!" Konohamaru cheered.

"Well, at least I think he enjoyed it." I said as I looked at the still twitching form of Ebisu.

"Damn it! I couldn't even defeat glasses-teacher again! I want the title that will make everyone recognize me, so why?!" yelled Konohamaru, clearly still upset about the jutsu not working.

(Song: Ame-A. Artist: Satoshi Hosoi. Album: Onegai Twins Complete Original Soundtrack. Repeat: To the end of the chapter)

"It's not that easy," replied Naruto. Konohamaru looked at the blond. "You're trying to take the title of Hokage, the ninja that everyone in the village will respect." Naruto looked to the sky. "I recently found a person who recognizes my, and that's him over there," he then pointed at me.

"Being a ninja is hard. Painful. Sometimes, even lonely. But if being a ninja is something you're serious about, _be serious _about it!" Naruto pointed to Ebisu. "If he wants you to recite shinobi rules of conduct, do push-ups while you do so! If he wants you to run laps around a field, take some shuriken and practice your aim while you run! Make whatever you do into more than it is! If you never push yourself, you'll never improve!" Naruto trained a serious look on his riveted audience. "And yes, there will be people, however few, that will try to tell you that you're no good. That you'll never achieve anything. They'll make you feel horrible about yourself, and some days you might even doubt why you should bother with all this hard work. But no matter what happens, no matter what they say that might make you consider trying to find some easy way to the top, you absolutely have to remember one critical truth." Naruto stared down his junior.

"Oh yeah? What truth is that?" Konohamaru demanded to know.

"There-are-_**NO**_-shortcuts!" Naruto shouted out to the world so loudly, a group of birds were startled out of the nearby trees with loud rustling as they took to the air. "Could you look at yourself in the mirror if you knew you didn't try your hardest? Do you think the village would respect a Hokage who just settled for 'easy'? Either you commit yourself to this... or don't insult real ninja by wasting peoples time."

The boy in question stood looking up at Naruto, his face a little red from the overload of information that had come crashing down on him. Konohamaru turned away from Naruto with a huff.

"Ha! Who do you think you are, lecturing me like that!? You're not so hot, are you?" He turned his nose up, but Naruto only smirked at his reaction. "Well, forget it! I won't be your apprentice any longer! In fact, from this day on, we're eternal rivals! Got it?" Konohamaru tried to glare at Naruto, but it turned into a chuckling smile.

"Well, isn't that just fine. This was a one-day thing anyway, because tomorrow, we get assigned into our gennin teams. However..." Naruto let a huge foxy smile free. "I accept your challenge to be my rival. But keep in mind that you have a lot of catching up to do. You'll have to train as hard as you can if you intend to compete with me for the title of Hokage!" Naruto glanced up at the setting light of the sky. "Well, we've got to get going now. But don't think you can slack off! Because I might just check up on you from time to time! You got that, Konohamaru?" He smirked one last time as we waved and headed off.

"Naruto, let's hurry and get that coat for you before the shops close," I said before we started running back towards the centre of Konoha.

-Hokage Tower-

Sarutobi watched the scene from his crystal ball.

"The real path to become a ninja has only begun," he smiled.


	4. Chapter 4: Enter Team 7

Chapter 4: Enter Team 7

**Chapter 4: Enter Team 7**

(Cue Song "Support Mec -v1046r9- Slash" from MahoroMATIC OST 2)

It seemed that it was a strange sight as Naruto and I walked into the classroom. Everyone was staring at us, or rather, at Naruto. Two reasons. The first was probably why he was here. And the second and most probably the biggest reason was his complete change of wardrobe. I could see the forming of Naruto's new fan-club as girls were blushing at him. Since he wasn't wearing the loose jumpsuit anymore his quite prominent muscles were showing through the muscle shirt that he now wore. We had met up before walking to the academy together. The walk was pleasant aside from Konohamaru 'ambushing' us.

I scanned all the people that were here. As soon as my eyes looked over Hinata though she blushed and turned the other way. 'Why did she do that? Doesn't she like Naruto?' I thought before looking at Naruto. It seemed he didn't look at Hinata. 'I will solve this mystery later,'

I led the way to sitting next to the window, mentioning for Naruto to go first. The seat near the window was left empty while Naruto and I sat in the other seats. I was closer to the isle. After a few minutes Sasu-bitch entered the classroom. He took one look round, spotted us, and then started walking toward us. "What does duck-butt want with us?" I asked Naruto softly. Naruto just erupted into silent laughter. The 'mighty' Uchiha walked up to us and just stood there.

"What do you want?" I asked in a non-friendly tone. Sasuke's face twitched. "Move," was all he said.

"Why should I do that, Uchiha?" I asked in the same tone. He didn't answer but I noticed his eyes slide to his left before snapping back to me. I looked round him and saw most of the girls looking at him hungrily. "Ahh, I see," I saw his plan, but decided to try to get something out of this. "Uchiha, in order for this to happen, you will owe us a favour,"

"What?" he said, obviously trying to keep his anger in check.

"_Each_," I stressed. Sasuke said nothing so I turned to Naruto. "Naruto, would you mind moving over a seat? I'll sit in your seat so Sasuke can sit in my seat." Naruto seemed brighter than he looked as he smirked and started rising out of his seat. The sound of a fist slamming the table was heard as I turned back to Sasuke. "Yes Sasuke? Was there something you wanted to say?" I asked mockingly. Sasuke paused before saying in a whisper, "Ok,"

"I'm sorry, what was that?" I smirked at him. Again it seemed that his emotions were going to get the best of him but again he suppressed them. "Ok, I owe you… _both_," These were all incredibly forced words, but I still smirked.

"It looks like we have a deal. In protecting you againsed the undefeatable, you owe us both a favour," I smiled as I moved out of the way, Naruto doing the same. Sasuke shuffled rather quickly to the seat that costed him two favours. Naruto and I smirked at each other, slapping high-fives. It was at that moment that the two top Sasuke worshipers burst through the door, huffing and puffing. Ino looked at her rival. "I win again, Sakura."

"What are you talking about? My toe entered the class before yours by a centimetre," countered pinky AKA Sakura.

Sakura then spotted the resident brooder and ran over to get to him, only for me to get in her way.

"Get out of the way!" she demanded. I looked at her and smiled coldly. "No," I simply said. She tried again, this time with a threat. "Out of the way or I'll bash you good!" I yawned while keeping my eye on her. "Make me," I challenged. Sakura wasted no time in trying to punch me. Note the keyword here is 'try'. I blocked every single punch she threw my way.

"Man you are violent. Do you really think that Sasuke would want a violent girlfriend like you? Assuming he ever finds someone worthy." I said lazily as she kept up the attack. Eventually she ran out of steam. As she was trying to catch her breath I decided to ask her a question.

"Why do you like Sasuke?"

She looked at me as if I were mad. She straightened up. "Well because he's cool and strong and handsome looking," she rattled off as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I noticed that everyone was now listening in.

"That's it?" I asked. Sakura opened her mouth to bite back but the words failed to come out of her mouth.

"Sakura, for all you know he could be a deranged psychopath. Instead of going for someone you've only heard rumours about, go for someone else. I'll give you a few candidates." I pointed to Naruto. "Naruto here is a happy-go-lucky person who is charming and always trustworthy. He's faithful and kind, not to mention he would always be there for you as a friend." I then moved on to Chouji.

"Chouji maybe on the plump side, but that doesn't matter. In the whole world, 80 of overweight people are some of the most friendly, loyal, kind and loving people on earth." I moved on to Kiba.

"Kiba is an Inuzuka and they are fiercely loyal to anyone they consider part of their pack. You could not find a more faithful partner than an Inuzuka." I then turned my attention back to Sakura.

"And if you really cared for the Uchiha, then you would notice that he doesn't like you or any other of his fan-girls. Someone wise once told me, 'The more you ask for it, the more annoying it gets and the less likely you'll get what you want.' This applies to everything except getting a job. And even after all this if you still want to go out with the Uchiha, prove your strength. Prove you are strong enough to stand at his side. And as for your attitudes, change them. We are now ninja. Professional killers. You have to put behind these childish crushes." I took a deep breath and looked at the space in front of me. "That is all I have to say," I finished.

The silence around me brought justice to the saying 'You could hear a pin drop'. Naruto, Chouji and Kiba were looking at me in awe. Sakura and the rest of the fan-girls were shocked. At that moment Iruka walked into the classroom.

(Cue Song Kinokoi Wa Kaido from Final Fantasy X-2 OST- Disc 1)

"Huh? What's wrong guys?" he asked. No-one answered him. "Ok then. Starting today, you are all official ninjas but you are all still new genins. It's going to get harder from here. You all will be in a group of three except Team 7 since there are an odd number of graduates. In this group you will accomplish missions under a Jounin teacher." At this last sentence a few people's eyes widened.

"We've arranged the groups such that overall abilities are equivalent. I will now announce them." The whole class tensed. Iruka went through teams 1 to 6, but I wasn't interested in these.

"Next, Team 7 is… Josh Ryu Kitsune," I smiled.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto and I slapped each other high-fives.

"Haruno Sakura," everyone expected Naruto to be jumping for joy but he was strangely quiet. 'I'll have to ask him about that,' I thought.

"And Uchiha Sasuke," Again, everyone knew that Sakura's crush on Sasuke was legendary but she also was quiet.

"Next Team 8, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino. Next, Team 9." I again tuned out for this.

"Next, Team 10. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji. That's it for the groups." The class mumbled but that was it. Ino was looking at Chouji in a neutral way, probably rethinking about her crush on Sasuke.

"I'm going to introduce the Jounin teachers in the afternoon. Meeting adjourned until then!" Iruka finished.

(Cue Song Tokubetsu na Yokan from Da Capo TV OST)

Naruto spoke up, "I would ask you if you want to join us for lunch seeing as we're teammates now but something tells me you're gonna say no."

Sakura turned on him and started shouting, "Naruto! Shut up! You're so..." At this point she had finally turned around and taken notice of his new clothes. She obviously also noticed how his new clothes showed off the body he would usually cover up with the jumpsuit. She just stood there open mouthed and gawking at his body.

Naruto waited a couple of seconds expecting her to answer him. He then waved his hand in front of her eyes, "Sakura-san? Hello?" When she didn't answer he just shrugged and we walked off for Ichiraku's. We got outside only to be confronted by Chouji and Kiba.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I asked in a friendly manner.

"Well, we just wanted to say thanks," said Kiba with Chouji nodded.

"No need. I just told the truth." I answered. "We were about to grab some lunch at Ichiraku's. Want to come with? I'll be paying," I asked.

"Sure!" said Kiba enthusiastically. I turned to Chouji. "Although you are restricted to three bowls mister," I turned to Naruto. "This means you as well." We all laughed. I spotted someone peeking round a tree at us. "Chouji, how bout you invite Shikamaru?" I asked. He nodded and went to find his friend. "Kiba, you go find Shino; see if he wants to join us," "Ok," he answered as he rushed off to find bugman.

I then walked toward the tree and, without looking round it, said, "You're welcome to join us too, Hinata," I then turned round and walked back to Naruto. Chouji had been successful in his search but Kiba said that Shino had something else to do. We all then trouped off to the ramen bar. Halfway there Hinata joined us, blushing furiously.

We all got back to the classroom on time. The lunch was nice, hearing everyone's story. We laughed and joked around. To sum it up, it was enjoyable.

All the other Jounin had picked up their charges and now it was just us. Even Iruka had left.

I was sharing my music with Naruto and it looked like he really enjoyed my music. Currently we were listening to Lock and Load -Blackened Angel mix- by Shootie HG from Devil May Cry 4 OST. Both of us were nodding our heads in time to the beat. I opened my eyes to see Sakura standing in front of us. I stopped the music and looked at her. "Is there something you want?"

"What music are you guys listening to?" she asked. I raised one of my eyebrows. "Do you want to listen?" She nodded hesitantly. I took off mine and Naruto's earphone and set a new song. This one was From the same album. It was called The Time Has Come by Jason "Shyboy" Arnold. I turned up the volume and played the song. The sound of heavy metal rang through the classroom. Naruto and I nodded our heads and tapped our feet to the beat. Sakura was a bit shocked. It seemed that she had never heard this kind of music. Even Sasuke was tapping his finger to the tune. The song ended and a new one struck up. This was called What I've Done by Linkin Park. This time I sung along.

In this fair world, there's no blood

There's no alibi

Cause I've drawn regret, from the truth

And a thousand lies

So let mercy come, and wash away

What I've Done, I'll face myself

To cross out what I've become

Erase myself

And let go of What I've Done

Put to rest, what you thought of me

While I clean this slate, with the hands

Of uncertainty

So let mercy come, and wash away

What I've Done, I'll face myself

To cross out what I've become

Erase myself

And let go of What I've Done

Of What I've Done

I start again

And whatever pain may come

Today this ends

And forgiving

What I've Done, I'll face myself

To cross out what I've become

Erase myself

And let go of What I've Done

What I've Done

Forgiving What I've Done

The song ended and I opened my eyes. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were staring at me. "What? Am I that bad?" I joked.

"I've never heard of songs like them before," Sakura said softly. "Yeah," Naruto agreed, nodding his head. Sasuke stayed quiet.

I quirked my eyebrow up in confusion but at that moment I felt the door behind me open. I instantly grabbed a kunai from one of the holsters under my jacket and threw it over my shoulder. It imbedded itself in the door frame right in front of the Jounin's face. Both Sasuke and Sakura looked at him strangely. "You're late sensei." I said as I turned around to see the Jounin walk in with his one eye not giving any emotion away. He grabbed the kunai and tossed it back to me; I caught it with ease and placed it back in the holster under my jacket.

"Now that wasn't a very nice greeting. I wasn't that late." He said in a sort of monotone. "Either way I want to meet you all on the roof, now." At that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

I looked at Sasuke and Sakura and contemplated the use of the flame Shunshin jutsu to get to the roof and give them a surprise but decided against it. "We better get going," was all I said as Naruto and I got up to leave.

(Cue Song Kakashi's Theme by Toshiro Masuda from Naruto Original Soundtrack I)

When we got to the roof the Jounin was already there sitting at the far end. He gestured for us to sit down. "Alright how about we get to know each other? Introduce yourselves." He said in the same monotone voice.

Sakura raised her hand almost instantly. "Um. Sensei what should we say?"

"Well you should obviously say your names. Maybe then you could say your likes and dislikes, your hobbies and maybe your dreams." Replied the Jounin.

"Why don't you go first? We can't keep calling you just sensei, sensei." Suggested Naruto.

"Okay. My names Hatake Kakashi. I have no intention of telling you my likes and dislikes. As for my dreams... I have few hobbies."

'Just as I thought,' I already knew the half assed intro he was going to say.

"Okay what about you with the pink." Kakashi said pointing toward Sakura who was sitting in between the other two.

"I'm Haruno Sakura! I like... well the person I like is... And my hobbies are... well, my dream is to...!" She hid her face with her hands at this point, in embarrassment and confusion. All the time she had been saying this she had been looking between Naruto and Sasuke not sure which one to settle on.

"Anything you hate?" Asked Kakashi still not giving away emotion.

"INO-PIG!" She shouted instantly.

"Okay what about you blondie?" He said while pointing at Naruto, to the left of Sakura.

"The name's Uzumaki Naruto!" Shouted Naruto with confidence. "I like ramen and training and my friend Josh. I dislike the 3 minute wait after adding water to the ramen cup, when making instant ramen. I got some hobbies but I ain't saying what they are. My dream... is to be HOKAGE!" He yelled the last part for emphasis. Sakura was looking at him strangely, Sasuke just narrowed his eyes at him and Kakashi just looked bored with his eyes revealing nothing.

"Alright, emo-kid you're up last."

"I'M NOT EMO!" Sasuke yelled, his eyebrow twitching. I just erupted into laughter. 'EMO-KID!! Ohhh classics are often the best.' I thought as I decided to play a prank.

"Fine, just get on with the introduction..." Everyone thought that Kakashi had finished at that but Naruto managed to hear the quiet, _"Emo-kid.", _that Kakashi had said under his breath. This caused Naruto and me to stifle another chuckle.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things I hate, there aren't a lot of things that I like. Also, I have an ambition that I have no intention to leave as just a dream." Both Sakura and Naruto were now listening intently to what Sasuke was saying, Kakashi just looked on as usual. "The revival of my clan and to... kill a certain man."

At that moment music blared into the air. "Crawling in my skin, these wounds, they will not heal!!" I stopped the music as Naruto and I bawled our head's off in laughter.

"Alright, now you Whity," said Kakashi.

"My name is Josh Ryu Kitsune. I like all my friends, foxes, my music and living. I dislike snakes, arrogant people and people who pick on my friends. My hobbies are hanging out with Naruto, listening to music and travelling. My dreams for the future are to become a rare swords collector, to start a music band and to be a better seals master than the Yondaime and Jiraiya," I said. Kakashi raised his eyes at my mention of foxes and my dreams but nodded at me.

"Alright you four have unique personalities. So far, I like that." Kakashi said while looking over us all. "We're going on a mission tomorrow. It's something the five of us can do together, some survival training."

Sakura raised her hand instantly and asked, "Why are we going to train when it's a mission? Didn't we get enough training at the academy?"

"This is no ordinary training. If I say this, I'm sure the four of you are going to be surprised. Out of the 27 graduates, only nine will become genins. The other 18 will be sent back to the academy. In other words, this training is going to be a very hard test with a dropout rate of sixty-six percent," said Kakashi while grinning.

"Liar," I said softly but loud enough for all to hear. Kakashi looked at me. "Ooohhh and why do you think that?"

"Because the village needs all the ninja that they can get. What would happen if all the graduators pass the test? The Hokage wouldn't encourage people to do their best only to be shot down because they weren't in the 34 margin. Nice try Kakashi."

"That's Kakashi-_sensei_," said the silver haired Jounin; he sounded a bit pissed off.

"You haven't taught us anything yet so I won't add sensei after your name until you deserve it!" I countered back, already sick of this guys attitude.

Kakashi glared at me before looking over us again and said, "Alright, the test is going to be at training grounds 7 tomorrow morning at 7am. Oh! Before I go, I suggest you don't eat any breakfast."

He started going through some hand signs quickly until Sakura asked another question. "Why's that sensei?"

He looked up and simply said, "Because you'll puke." He then vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Don't listen to his advice about breakfast, have what you usually have for breakfast. Don't worry about the time of the test; he'll be late again tomorrow. We might as well wait until tomorrow to make a plan," I said. Sasuke and Sakura just nodded before walking off. I turned to Naruto. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow Naruto," I waved at him before flame shunshining off the roof.

The first thing I did was go visit the Hokage and asked if I could borrow a jutsu scroll.

"What's the technique Josh," he asked. I smiled at him. "Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu." Sarutobi nodded. "An upper C class jutsu. That's fine. Wait here and I'll get my assistant to find it. Izumo!" he said sharply. One of the gate guards appeared in front of the seasoned leader. "Sir!"

"I need you to get an upper C class doton jutsu for me please. It's the Shinjuu Zanshu," explained Sarutobi.

"Hai!" Izumo said before vanishing again. The Hokage then turned his attention back to me.

"So, how are things for you?" he asked.

"Not bad. I bought Naruto a new set of clothes yesterday. After all, you can't be a respectable ninja if you dress in orange," I said. Sarutobi chuckled. I then said, "Hey I need to ask you something privately." Sarutobi nodded and flashed through a few seals before casting the jutsu. "Now what is it you wanted to ask me?"

"Is the Namikaze compound still standing?" Sarutobi was shocked. "Why would you want to know that?" he asked. I smiled again. "It's time he knows the truth. After the discovery of the Kyuubi inside of him I think you should come clean with him. And if you're worried that someone might discover the truth then just swear him to secrecy. He needs to know who his mother and father were." Sarutobi sighed. "You're right. I guess it is time. Do you know where he is?"

"I think you should tell him after the gennin exam. If you told him now, he would be distracted." I reasoned. The Hokage nodded and released the jutsu. Just then the door opened and Izumo walked in holding a small scroll. "Here you go sir," he said as he placed the scroll on the desk. "Thank you Izumo," thanked the Hokage before dismissing him. "Josh, when he moves in, could you also move in with him?" he asked.

"I was actually going to ask you that. Yes, I will." I stood up and picked up the scroll. "And thank you for the jutsu. See you old man," I finished as flames erupted around me, teleporting me out of the office and on top of the building. I then bounded off to the park to learn the jutsu. It took one and a half hours to get that jutsu down. By this time the sun had set and the city lights were out. I decided to get back to the hotel. After I arrived I got to work in making some basic paralysis seals. 'They will come in handy in stalling Kakashi,' I thought before finishing up and going to sleep.

(Cue Song Kaname no Kitchen by Toshihiko Sahashi from Fullmetal Panic Original Sound Track 1)

I woke up a little after 7am. I took a shower and got dressed fairly quickly, making sure I remembered the kunai holsters under my coat and Soul Calibur. I rolled up the paralysis seals that I made last night and placed them in a small pocket next to the unused summoning scrolls inside my coat.

I decided to swing by Ichiraku's to get some food. I only had one bowl but I ordered three takeout ramen and sealed them into the previously used summoning scroll. Tucking it away I waved goodbye to Ayame and Teuchi.

I finally arrived at the training grounds at 8:45am. I was blasting the song Hello by The Cat Empire, 'A very catchy tune,' I thought. When I arrived the first thing I saw were two very tired, very hungry looking genin hopefuls, namely, Sakura and Sasuke. Naruto was there as well but he looked like he was fine. 'Those two haven't taken my advice about eating breakfast or getting there purposefully late and it seems to have taken its toll on them.' I thought. Each looked like they were about to collapse in fatigue. I just sighed and walked over to the group.

"I thought as much, neither of you took my advice did you? You do realize Kakashi only suggested that we skip breakfast? Also, you did notice how late he was yesterday? At least Naruto was smart enough to heed my advice." I sighed at the two again, pulling out the scroll and summoning the ramen takeout. I handed one to Sakura as she said a silent "Arigatou, Josh." and started eating. Sasuke, on the other hand, looked at the ramen like it was his worst enemy. "I'm not going to eat that! If I eat this Kakashi-sensei will most probably fail me straight away!"

"You idiot. Kakashi-sensei is trying to use our hunger to his advantage and unless you eat something, you're going to be a liability. Now eat that ramen before I force feed it to you, it's for your own good!"

Sasuke just glared at him and ate the food slowly. I gave the last takeout to Naruto who smiled before inhaling the food in less than 5 seconds.

At that moment Kakashi arrived on the scene via shunshin. "Sorry I'm late. I-" started Kakashi.

"Don't even try it Kakashi!" Naruto broke-in.

Kakashi looked at Naruto with a fake hurt expression. "You didn't even let me try! Oh, well on to the test. It's pretty simple, all you have to do is get these bells off of me before noon." He took out three bells and held them up for us to see. He also took out an alarm clock and set it for noon.

"But Kakashi-sensei! There are only three bells and four of us." Sakura pointed out.

"Exactly only three of you can pass. Once you have a bell you pass, if you don't get a bell then you fail and you have to watch as whoever did pass eat these two lunches I prepared." Kakashi pulled out three bento boxes. Everyone just looked at them uninterested, seeing as I had fed them already. Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly. 'Probably at the lack of a response from us,' I thought.

"Also, if you fail you have to go back to the academy, although I'm guessing you already figured that out from what I said yesterday." Kakashi walked over to three posts on the other end of the training grounds and placed the three bento boxes and the alarm clock on top of the middle post.

"So when do we start Kakashi-sensei?" I asked with a smirk.

"Well first, I should tell you if you want to get these bells that you're gonna have to come at me with everything you have. That means you have to have an intent to kill, you can use anything you want, kunai, shuriken and anything else you may have." Replied Kakashi with an eye-smile.

"But that's too dangerous Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled in fear for the Jounin's life.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." He replied. "By the way the test starts now!"

(Cue Song Anun by Takanashi Yasuharu from NARUTO Shippuuden Original Soundtrack 1)

At that, we all sped into the trees for cover. As soon as I was out of sight I created several clones. I instructed two to find Naruto and two to find Sakura. Then one clone from each pair was to lead them to myself while the other was to henge into the person they were assigned to and for them to stay where they were. The fifth was to stay here in my place. As the four clones sped off to find their targets, I bounded off to find Sasuke.

Not far into the search I felt my fifth clone disperse. 'That shithead! How dare he use Sennen Goroshi on me. Well I'll just have to introduce you to Soul Calibur!' I thought furiously. After a couple of minutes I found Sasuke. I had to knock him out before going to the meeting place. As I arrived I saw that Naruto and Sakura were already there. I woke up Sasuke and started telling them of my plan.

"Okay then now that that's sorted. You guys get going on the traps I'm gonna find a place to hide and wait for Kakashi. Hopefully one of the kage bushin will be able to survive long enough to lead him to this place." I said as Naruto and I began to turn away and head for the trees.

"Wait a second! Why is it you and the dobe who gets to go after Kakashi?" Asked Sasuke a little angry.

"Because I have the perfect way of bringing him down Teme. And don't worry you three can have the bells; I just want to see the look on Kakashi face when he sees what I have in store for him. Now get going, he's already gotten rid of two of my kage bushin." I ordered as we both bounded into the trees to wait. It was then I felt the Sakura clone get destroyed by a genjutsu. I whistled to the others to signal that Kakashi had dealt with all but one of the kage bushin and was currently on his way toward us. The two quickly hid behind the bushes were they could set off all the traps. I sent another clone to them.

They then got up to see Kakashi standing a few feet from the bushes staring straight Sasuke, Sakura and my clone. "Alright, time's almost up, now are the real 'yous' going to finally try and get the bells from me or what?" Kakashi asked turning to his orange book about half way through his speech.

The three smirked at him and said in unison, "Hai!" As soon as the word left their mouth's a multitude of shuriken and kunai were thrown at him.

Kakashi thought as he took out a kunai and blocked each and every weapon thrown at him not once looking up from his book. As he was still blocking the projectiles my clone and Sasuke jumped in to attack him. They both hit their mark only to have it turn into a log. The barrage of weapons had stopped now so the two looked around trying to figure out where he had gone.

All of a sudden the ground beneath both of them crumbled and Kakashi's hands came up, grabbed both their ankles and pulled them under leaving only their heads above ground.

Kakashi looked down at the two as he said, "Ninja lesson 3: Ninjutsu, Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu." He then froze. "What's going on?" He asked no one in particular. Naruto then walked into his field of vision. "Naruto? You did this?" he asked. "Somewhat," Naruto answered before I appeared on the scene.

"How do you like my paralysis seal Kakashi-sensei?" I asked the immobile jounin while I created a clone to get Sasuke out of the ground. I went over to the jounin and unfastened the three bells. "I'll take these. Hey Sakura! Catch!" I yelled throwing one her way then holding the other out to Sasuke when he was out of the jutsu. Sasuke just glared at me and snatched the bell from him. I handed the last one to Naruto. "So this means that they pass right Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes." Kakashi answered.

"Well then for me to pass I'll take this!" I said as I slipped the orange book out from his hands. He looked like he was just about to protest before he heard "Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!" He then found himself buried to his neck.

"How about now? Do I pass?" I asked sweetly. "Yes." Kakashi answered. I smiled as my clone pushed Kakashi out of the ground. He smiled.

"You realized the purpose of this test and got the four of you to work together to take me down. The purpose was to see if you could work as a team and you did. You knew that me telling you not to eat breakfast was so I could use your hunger against you, so you brought food for your team-mates. There is a saying I like to follow, those who break the rules are scum but-"

"-Those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." I finished.

Kakashi did an eye-smile and answered, "Exactly! Now that you all passed could you please take the paralysis seal off me?" Kakashi asked with an eye smile.

"Why don't you just break it? Being a Jounin you must have a strong enough will to break it. I mean it's a pretty simple seal." I replied, hands behind my head.

Kakashi simply replied, "I'm too lazy."

I sighed as the others sweat dropped. "Okay give me a second." I said as I walked back over to Kakashi. I peeled off the paper seal and rolled it back up; setting it back in my coat.

"Now then, you three can have tomorrow off. I need to get some paperwork done concerning you three becoming gennin. Meet me here the day after tomorrow at 8am and we'll start on your training and missions. Dismissed!" Kakashi announced and started to leave for the Hokage tower while Sasuke and Sakura were leaving the training grounds.

I turned to Naruto. "Let's go celebrate with ramen!" I said as we both left together.


	5. Chapter 5: “This is No House!”

Chapter 5: "This is No House

**Chapter 5: "This is No House!"**

After ramen we started walking to the Hokage Tower. I asked Naruto to come with me. He asked why but I just said that the Hokage wanted to talk to him and wanted me to be there as well. Eventually we got to the old man's office and told the receptionist that we had an appointment. She confirmed and we went into the room. Sarutobi was sitting in his chair, waiting for us. I could tell that he was ready for us. He flashed through the hand seals used for the sound barrier and launched the jutsu. I felt the flood of chakra around the room as it settled into the walls and framework.

"Have a seat Naruto, Josh," he offered. We both sat down. Naruto was fidgeting.

"Naruto, you now know of the demon sealed inside of you but I imagine that you want to know the full story yes?" the old man asked. Naruto nodded, "Yes, how did Kyuubi get in me Jiji?"

"Well the story starts 13 years ago. The Kyuubi was at our doorstep. All our jutsu's just bounced off the fox. Minato Namikaze, the Forth Hokage, was preparing a very powerful fuuin jutsu to use. Although it was an experimental jutsu there was no other option. He couldn't kill the Kyuubi and if he sealed it inside of himself, the Kyuubi's chakra would burn instantly though his chakra coils, ending his life and releasing him again. He needed someone with chakra coils that were still new to be able to adjust to the sudden presence of demonic chakra. He needed a new born baby. That baby was you. He then sealed the Kyuubi inside you, with the help from the Shinigami because he was the only one able to rip out the Kyuubi's soul and place it in you. The jutsu was just made to summon the Shinigami. But the price for summoning the Death God Himself was the soul of the summoner. And so the Yondaime died, sealing the Kyuubi into you."

Naruto looked very shocked. "Why me?" he asked.

Sarutobi sighed heavily. "There were two reasons. First was that there were no other babies born on that day. Second is that even if there was another, he wanted his own son to bare the burden and not shift the burden to someone else's kid." Naruto's eyes widened even further. "You mean…?"

"Yes. Naruto, your father, was the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha," he finished.

There was a long silence. "Wow…" was the word that broke the silence. Naruto then looked at the Hokage. "Did the Yon… I mean… Dad… leave anything for me?" he asked. Sarutobi nodded and went to where the pictures of all the previous Hokage's were hanging. He took down the picture containing the 4th's head and bit his thumb. He swiped the blood over the wall where the picture used to be and red glowing lines appeared. The lines grew and turned into a very complicated looking seal. The seal pulsed once before the section of the wall with the seal on it opened up, showing a safe. Sarutobi reached in and took out a white scroll. He handed it to Naruto who took it and opened the scroll. I peeked over his shoulder to read the letter.

_Hey kiddo! If you are reading this letter than you should know who this is. I mean my face __is carved into the damn mountainside. Although it never did justice to me, would it have killed them to give me a smile, even a small one. Nope, instead I get to be 'Stiff face number Four'._

We both laughed at this.

_I will not ask for you to forgive me, I shall only ask you to understand the reasons why I did what I did. When you take up the mantle of Kage, you take a silent vow to protect the village and all of its occupance, even at the cost of your own life. All of my actions had to be performed with the greater good in mind, though I hated all of them those were the sacrifices that was demanded of me. When the Kyuubi was sighted heading towards the village, I immediately knew that it was my time to die, my time to sacrifice myself. But I could not nor could never have killed it. Its strength stems from something primeval, something that we mortals couldn't even hope to contemplate or understand. So I knew that I would have to seal it away, but I also knew that sealing it within an inanimate object would not provide the prison required. So I had to seal it within an infant, the strongest prison possible. When an infant first born, their soul is as pure as snow. It is untainted by any outside influence, and a pure soul is the greatest prison for any demon or creature of evil. It is anathema to them. And the seal is the lock that holds the prison in place. It contains the demon and leans to the purity of the child's soul for strength. Even if the child grows up to be evil or misguided, the seal will not weaken as it was created at the time when the soul is strongest. You have nothing to fear from the Kyuubi Naruto, that seal on your navel will hold indefinitely. It may weaken, but it will never break. The fox can smash into it for an eternity and all it will do is give itself a headache._

_But I sense that the Kyuubi is not evil in itself. More like someone or something has taken it's free will away. I can't explain how I know this. I call it gut instinct. And to answer your question as to 'why you?' well I'm sure Sarutobi has told you most of the reasons but the strongest was that you are my son. If anyone can withstand the mental and physical pressure of being the jinchuriki for the Kyuubi, it would be you, my own flesh and blood. I have faith in you, faith in your strength of will to bear this burden. Know that I love you will all my heart and soul Naruto._

_Your old man,_

_Minato Namikaze_

Naruto broke down in tears after reading the letter. I encircled my arms around the crying blond and hugged him until the crying had stopped. He looked at me with red eyes. "Thank you Josh," he said softly. I smiled. "Don't mention it Naruto." I then noticed that there was more writing. I pointed that fact out and we kept reading.

_P.S. I leave to you my house and all the contents within. Enjoy exploring the house kiddo!_

Naruto and I looked up from the letter. "Can we move into this house my dad mentioned Jiji?" asked Naruto. Sarutobi smiled. "Sure. We'll go and get your stuff first then move to your dad's house." Naruto yipped for joy and ran out of the office. I looked at the Hokage. "Looks like I don't need to ask him if I can move in," I said. Sarutobi nodded, grinning, before pinching out a set of keys out of the safe. He closed it and the lines of the seal slowly disappeared. The old man placed the picture of Minato back in its rightful place before we both walked out of the room

After getting Naruto's things and for me to pick up anything that I thought I left behind at the hotel, it took us about half an hour of walking to reach our destination, and Naruto himself looked surprised when they had reached the general area of the Hyuuga estates. He stayed surprised when they arrived at the doorstep of a rather large house, directly adjacent to the Hyuuga compound.

"So Jiji, this is where me and Josh will be living now?" he asked in awe. I was looking at how far away the Hyuuga compound was. 'Cool, now I can go visit Hinata sometime,' I thought.

Sarutobi nodded as he produced the same set of keys that he had taken out of the safe from one of his pockets. He proceeded to unlock the front door, and with a gentle push, the large oak door swung open. Sarutobi stood back, and made an ushering gesture to us, all the while maintaining an almost mischievous smile on his face.

The second we stepped through the threshold, we couldn't help but gasp.

The first chamber of the house was magnificent. The floor was a finely polished and stained wooden affair, giving the room an immediate 'home' type quality. In the middle of the room was an ornate oriental styled rug, with various dragons seeming to coil around the tapestry, giving it an almost ethereal quality. The walls were panelled oak, stained to be a slightly darker colour than normal oak. On the walls hung various famous paintings, interspersed so not as to be too _full_ in the room.

On the far wall sat a large fireplace, and on top of the mantle sat a sheathed Katana, roughly five feet total in length, with a fine cloth wrapped hilt that made up for at least a foot and a half of the total length. The sheath was black, with a coiling red dragon surrounding it, and the curve of the blade suggested that it was a Samurai styled Katana rather than a Ninja styled straight edge. The hand guard was jet black, in contrast with the white ivory cloth of the handle. Underneath the Katana sat a slightly smaller version thereof, only about 4 feet in total length, but with the same colouring and design. It too was curved in a Samurai fashion, giving them a grace that drew the eye rather nicely.

On the ceiling there was a rather simple chandelier that brightly lit the room, along with the help of two west facing windows that allowed the sunlight to flow in freely. There was a cloth draped couch and what looked to be various recliners situated to either side of it, all of them facing the fireplace and the rug. All in all, it was a tremendously inviting scene, and it served to make me almost misty eyed. 'To think that I'll be sharing this place with Naruto!' I thought happily.

Naruto seemed to realise that he had been standing there for a few moments, and the Hokage was looking at him with a tremendously warm smile. Sarutobi motioned for us to follow him once again, and we passed a threshold into what was the largest kitchen I had ever been in.

It had all the regular appliances of a normal kitchen, and the entire room seemed to be bathed in whites and beiges. The countertops were a beige marble, while the floor was a white marble. There was a massive refrigerator on the left of the room, and a large assortment of kitchen appliances on the right, including a huge stove, a microwave oven, convection oven, and deep fryer. I took special notice of the rather large liquor cabinet adjacent to the refrigerator, wondering if Minato was a big drinker like Tsunade.

From the kitchen, we passed into a rather large dining room that seemed to be made for quite a few people. The table was long and narrow, and was lined on either side by plush chairs that resembled the recliners in the living room. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, once again brightly illuminating the room, and the design was very similar to the living room. The dining room segued into a much less formal living room setting, replete with an entertainment centre with a large television and sound system, and a very large, curved and plushy couch that looked as though it was made for quite a few people. 'If only there was a PS3 and an Xbox 360,' I wished. The room's décor was much less formal, no fancy paintings or fireplace, but the floor and walls were made of the same wooden combination, and the light in the room came from a very similar chandelier, although slightly dimmer than the one in the main living room.

We then ascended a set of curved, wide stairs to the second story of the house. The stairwell turned into a hallway, with ten doors on either side. One door seemed much further away from the other doors than the rest of them, and I surmised that it was the master bedroom. We passed all of these rooms, and found another staircase, leading to the third floor. When Naruto reached the third floor, he nearly face-faulted. There was nothing there but a small hallway leading to a door. The Hokage strode up to the door, casually opening it, showing us what the third floor really was.

We came out on the roof of the house, which overlooked most of Konoha. On either side of him were various types of patio furniture, along with, of all things, a small garden bed, which seemed to have all sorts of flowers and various foliage growing from it. It gave a grand view of Konoha and the rest of the estate, as well. I noticed that the rest of the estate seemed to be rather large…probably close to 20 acres of forested and cleared area. In some of the clearings, there were training dummies and obstacle courses, and in some of the more forested areas, there seemed to be small trails leading through them, almost looking as though there was a large trail covering the entirety of the 'back yard'. I also noticed that closer to the house, there was a second building, with a small steam stack. I assumed that it was a personal onsen. 'Man, Minato had it good.'

With that, the tour was over, and the Hokage led the procession back downstairs to the main living room, motioning them all to take a seat wherever they wanted. Naruto and I winded up on a two-seat couch while the Hokage took his seat on the main couch. Silence hung for a moment, before Naruto broke it.

"I can't believe we are going to be living in such an awesome place Josh!" he yelled at me. "I know! This is so cool!" I replied, my voice toned down, but not much. "This isn't a house! It's a mini-palace!"

The Hokage smiled. "Yes this is where you will be staying from now on."

I looked at the Hokage. There was something he had missed. "Sarutobi, what about his name?" I asked. He seemed to remember. Naruto also looked interested. "Wait, what's this about my last name now?" he asked.

"Josh was simply saying that your last name truly is _not_ 'Uzumaki'. That was your mother's maiden name. He thought it fitting, at the time, to give you that name, as he couldn't use his real name. The Yondaime was well known, and well liked, through out the majority of the village. With your…reputation…going around calling yourself 'Namikaze Naruto' would undoubtedly bring trouble that neither you or I need right now. In fact, all of the information that you have been made privy to in the last few days is to remain as classified as possible. There are some people that you can tell…for instance; your father was good friends with Hyuuga Hiashi, your next door neighbour. He was also rather good friends with the person that made those swords on the mantle, the Higurashi family. But he made many enemies, especially in Iwa from the Third Great Shinobi War. So Minato decided that you should go with your mother's maiden name. She was called Uzumaki Kushina. She was from the land of whirlpools. She was very beautiful. Your mother and father married secretly, so no-one knew the name Uzumaki."

Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe. "Your father's _real_ last name was Namikaze. This, of course, makes _your_ real name, Namikaze Naruto. But for your safety, until I deem you strong enough, you will keep using the name your using now please."

Naruto nodded. "Sure, I can understand that."

"So Minato was good friends with the Higurashi family you say?" I asked. The Hokage nodded. "Yes he was, why? Do you know them?"

"Yeah, I bought a few ninja supplies from there as well as getting Naruto's new outfit." I replied. Naruto grinned at this. "Speaking of names, I know that your last name is Sarutobi but what's your first name?" I asked.

Sarutobi smiled. "My full name is Sarutobi _Sasuke_," he said.

"Aww, shit man. Now I can't call duck-butt Sasu_gay_ anymore! Damn!" I whined as Naruto and the old man laughed loudly.

After a few moments, Sarutobi got up and walked over to the stairs, motioning for us to follow him up the stairs, and we did so, walking up the spiral staircase in silence. We reached what I thought to be the master bedroom, and with a turn of a key, Sarutobi unlocked the large oaken doors to the room that lay beyond. "Holy shit…" I whispered softly.

It was _huge_. While the house itself was quite large, I had never quite expected the master bedroom to take up so much space.

The décor was very much the same as the other rooms. Warm wooden colours, with a chandelier giving off a bright shine throughout the room. A large goose down bed lay in the middle, with a bedside dresser to the left of the bed itself. Two large windows facing west allowed sunlight in, and they were both accented by beige curtains. There were a few wardrobes on either side of the room, with a dresser at the foot of the bed that had a large mirror positioned upon it. Other than that, the room itself was almost bare of accessories. 'I guess that Minato was a minimalist,' I thought.

A picture caught Naruto's eye, however, and he gasped. I turned to look at what it showed. A man and a woman, standing side by side with the back yard of the house as a backdrop. The man was clothed in a Jounin vest, with a navy blue turtleneck shirt, and matching navy blue pants and ninja sandals. He had a white trench coat of sorts on, with flame decals licking at the bottom. His forehead protector rested on…his forehead…and it held back hair that was eerily similar to Naruto's own. He had a dazzlingly brilliant smile, and his arm that encircled the woman was hidden behind her lower back.

The woman was…in a word, beautiful. She had long, wavy red hair and blue eyes, thought not as blue as the man's; with a forehead protector that was draped on her slender neck. She wore a Chuunin vest over a flowing and too-baggy white long-sleeved shirt, along with a red pair of cargo pants, and blue ninja sandals. She too had a happy smile on her face and a slight red tinge on her cheeks. Her head was resting on the man's chest, and her arms were draped across his shoulders.

Sarutobi walked up behind Naruto and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Those people in that picture…the man is the Yondaime, your father…the Woman is Uzumaki Kushina, your mother. They had me take this picture when I came over to a dinner they hosted, and it was only about a month after this that they were married." Naruto had an unquenchable smile on his face, and he turned to look back at the picture.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, the Hokage sighed and patted Naruto gently on the head; looking between the two of us. "Guys, I'm afraid I do need to get back to the Hokage tower sometime soon…undoubtedly there will be _something_ that requires my attention…" He seemed almost peeved at the concept of doing his _job_. "I'll leave you two here to get situated. I'll see you tomorrow for your first mission."

Naruto nodded at the old man in front of him before they both gave each other a mutual embrace. The Hokage gave Naruto a playful ruffle of the hair. "I'm glad I was finally able to give you some peace and happiness Naruto. I'm sure that wherever your mother and father are now…they love you. Just remember that that." The Hokage gave Naruto a smile before looking at me. "Now you have to tell him your secret," he said before shunshining out of the house.

Naruto looked at me. "What did he mean Josh," he asked. I sighed. 'Damn you old man!' I cursed before preparing to tell Naruto my own secret.

"So let me get this straight," said Naruto. We were back in the 'informal' living room. I sat in a recliner while Naruto sat on the couch. "You are from another world," he paused as I nodded. "You died and met Kami-sama," Again I nodded. "then _she_ gave you a mission to track down a shattered evil sword called Soul Edge. You were handed the evil sword's opposite, Soul Calibur. And then you came here to find it," He finished.

"Yep, that just about sums it up," I said cheerfully. Naruto then looked very sad. "Josh, I thought that we were friends. Why are you lying to me?"

I sighed. "Somehow I knew that you wouldn't buy it. How about if I show you Soul Calibur. Would that change your mind?" Naruto nodded slowly. I then stood up and unsheathed the sword. He looked at the beautiful sword that looked like it was made out of clear glass that had a faint blue sheen to it. The spherical blue crystal pulsated slightly, as if happy. But the shape…

"Even though the sword looks very unique in colour and material, I was hoping something… more from the shape, if this sword is anything like what you cracked it up to be," said a disappointed sounding Naruto. I just grinned. "This is just the shape I willed the sword into, considering my height." I then willed the sword to change back into it's original form. I pointed the sword up as the jewel started pulsating quickly. A white glow encompassed the sword. The glow then started to shift in shape, eventually settling into something that resembled a simplified Christmas tree shape. Then the glow dyed down and what was left made Naruto gasp in awe.

The sword looked like an oversized snowflake in the shape of a sword. Long, clear crystals, the longest being roughly 70 inches long, branched out. The handle was four hand grips long, giving whoever wielded the sword easy flexibility. Then the crystals branched out short. They steadily got longer as they wrapped in a circle. In the middle of the crystals was the same blue gem, only it was larger and practically shone with power. A thick ring of crystal circled around the jewel, connecting the 'sticks' of crystal so that none ever fell out of place. (AN: If you are having trouble visualizing this then look up the design of the sword in Soul Calibur 4. It really is a magnificent sword)

'Man. Every time I see the true form of Soul Calibur, it just takes my breath away at the beauty of said sword,' I thought as I stared at the instrument I was holding. Naruto looked like he had just found out that Kyuubi was a chick. One word escaped his mouth. "wow," he said in a very subdued voice. I willed the sword back into it's previous form and watched as Soul Calibur morphed back to being a broadsword. Sheathing it I looked at Naruto.

"Believe me now?" I asked. Naruto nodded vigorously. "Absolutely,"

"Good! Well I'm tired, even though it's now 7:30. I hope you don't mind if I just went to sleep now." I asked. Naruto nodded, once again smiling at me, but now it held a bit of awe at me. 'Well, it's to be expected. He did see Soul Calibur, as well as fell the power pulsing from it,' I thought. Even though it felt like a calm, warm breeze the power laced into that soft wind felt extreme. "Good night, Naruto," I called from the door before I stepped out into the hallway and crossed over to the opposite doorway. I opened the door and walked into my new room.

It was a medium sized room, much smaller than the master bedroom. The walls seemed to be made of a deep mahogany, and the room itself was dimly lit with what seemed to be candelabras. A roaring fireplace on the far side of the room was flanked diagonally on either side by two matching recliners made out of what looked to be fine leather and goose down. In the middle of the room, a queen sized bed sat, only a foot above the floor, but with a cushion made out of what looked to be even more goose down. An empty book case sat directly parallel the fireplace on the other side of the room. There was a door to the left side of where I came in and, curious, I decided to check it out. It seemed to be a bathroom. And what a bathroom it was.

White marble tile lined the room, and the bathroom itself was so huge that you would have to wave your arms around like a madman while shouting the word to emphases on how big it was. It was very brightly lit, and there was gold trim on some of the fixtures. The shower was _very_ large, and the bath counterpart was just as big. The whole thing was just…well…it made me feel bad to have to do what one normally did in a bathroom.

After deciding to have a bath and doing so I dried myself off with a big, white towel that seemed to be made of clouds. I slipped on a white, silk nightrobe before walking back into my new room. I hung up the nightrobe and slipped under the soft covers of my soft bed. It was then that I gave out a long, contented sigh. 'Today was a good day, but what about Hinata? Why did she blush like that when I saw her? Maybe she was embarrassed that I caught her looking at Naruto. I should get them together.' And with that I closed my eyes and went to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: How to Turn A ‘C’ Into an ‘A

Chapter 6: How to Turn A 'C' Into an 'A'

**Chapter 6: How to Turn A 'C' Into an 'A'**

(Cue Song Mametsubu Renkinjutsushi from Full Metal Alchemist Original Soundtrack)

It had been an interesting two months so far. Since we were fresh gennin we had D-rank missions galore. And Kakashi gave us zilch training for the entire time. But that didn't matter because I was training Naruto in Kenjutsu as well as other things. After our first D rank mission that happened to be catching the damned cat Tora, we explored the complex a bit more. We found out that there was a basement which should have been obvious.

Naruto and I had passed through the barrier that the master security seal had erected rather easily…all it did was elicit a slight tingling sensation on my upper back, nothing more. I didn't exactly want to find out, however, what would happen to someone who did not have the permission from Naruto when they tried to enter. There were traps abound, and seals lined the walls, infused with enough chakra to blow us sky high.

(Cue Song Fear by Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy VIII OST)

Minato had been in a hurry. That much was painfully obvious. Scrolls were strewn about as so much waste…books thrown haphazardly on shelves, and various other repositories of information were simply sitting in the open with no real organization to them. If I didn't know that it was impossible for anyone else to get down here, I would have thought that the basement had been ransacked.

I looked at Naruto. "Let's get this place fixed up." I suggested. "Yeah, it is quite messy. Kind of like my old apartment," he said with a grin which I returned. We then set about organising the mess. There were a lot of notes, no doubt from the workings out of the Shiki Fuujin seal. After it was all finished we took another look around.

The room's design was rather simple. The basement could be used as a meter for how large the house actually was. It was a circular room that stretched to a probable 100m diameter or so…the ceiling itself was probably 25 feet up from the base. The floor was simple smoothed concrete and the ceiling looked as though there was only simple panelling keeping the rafters from showing. The ring's unbroken wall seemed to be panelled with the same material. The actual 'furniture' in the room was as minimalist as the rest of the room. File cabinet structures lined the outside of the ring in a circle, and there were simple fluorescent lights that illuminated the room in a blinding artificial glow.

We then looked around into the cabinets. Each cabinet had a symbol on it. Some had the symbol of fire, some wind. Eventually we realised that these cabinets were stored with elemental jutsu and they were ranked in order from D to S rank. We were both giddy at the prospect of learning so much jutsu. Then there were cabinets for other things like non-elemental ninjutsu. These held things like Kage Bushin. But at the far end was another cabinet. I noticed immediately that there was something…_different_ about it as compared to most of the other cabinets in the room. It had a spiral emblem imbedded into the center, and there was a strange looking circular seal adorning the single opening lock. I examined the seal until I recognised it.

"I see. Only those of a certain blood can open this thing…I guess this cabinet is full of the family jutsu." Naruto's head snapped to me so quickly that I feared his head may twist off.

"This…family jutsu…blood…what?" His disjointed 'sentence' gave away his underlying astonishment, awe, anticipation, and anxiety.

(Cue Song Chuu Ichi Danshi Buin by WATABE Chieru from Prince of Tennis Original Soundtrack 1)

I couldn't help but laugh. "The seal on the cabinet is a blood seal…simply bite your thumb and smear some blood on it. It should unlock automatically." Naruto nodded, somewhat dumbfounded and did as told.

It snapped open with an audible click, and with a shaking hand, Naruto reached in and pulled out the oversized scroll contained therein. It took him a good two minutes to fully unravel the thing along the concrete floor, but once he did…

"_Namikaze Family Techniques – Authored by Namikaze Minato_…hmm. There are only four jutsu on this scroll…" Naruto glanced at the unfurled scroll and noticed that there _were_ only four jutsu described in the scroll itself. He noticed with a smile, however, that they were all either A or S-class type jutsu.

"I guess my dad's philosophy was quality over quantity. These jutsu are _advanced_…am I seeing this right, or do none of these require hand seals?" He noticed just from a passing over of the jutsu in the scroll that he hadn't seen any lists of hand seals needed for the jutsu themselves. I looked over his shoulder and whistled. "Rasengan, Hirashin, Flash Steps and Shiki Fuujin. Let's see," I said as I knelt down for a better look. The Rasengan, the Shiki Fuujin and the Hirashin I knew about. Flash Steps seemed to be another version of the Hirashin no Jutsu. It required no use of the seal needed for the Hirashin. When Naruto asked what the Hirashin and Flash Steps were I started explaining.

(Cue Song Genius Scientist Cid by Akifumi Tada from Final Fantasy: Unlimited OST)

"The Hirashin no Jutsu was an instant teleportation technique that allowed the user to move at the speed of light. But the use of the jutsu required that you inscribe the intricate seal to something that when the jutsu was activated you would hone to the seal. Minato inscribed the seal into special three pronged kunai for the use of the jutsu. The Flash Steps however required no seal to teleport to. You just had to visualise the place you're going to. Kind of like Shunshin on a sugar high, it was simply more advanced. However there's two drawbacks. The first is that the maximum range for this is 100 meters. The second is that it requires that you know how to do Hirashin." Naruto nodded at this. He then asked me about the Rasengan.

"The Rasengan is a form of pure chakra manipulation. It's a ball of chakra whizzing at high speeds to create a miniature typhoon. It is learned in three steps. The first is rotation. You have to learn how to rotate the chakra in your hand. The second step is power. I'm sure you know what that means. And the third step is control. This final step is to combine the speed of the rotation with the maximum power and control it into a small ball in your hand. It says here that the Rasengan is not complete for Minato, your dad, wanted to add nature manipulation into the jutsu. But he never got that far with the Kyuubi's invasion." Naruto looked sad and I pulled him into a hug. "Don't worry. Wherever he is, I'm sure your dad is proud."

(Cue Song Mezame no Asa by Kajiura Yuki from Erementar Gerad OST 1)

Naruto looked at me. "Really?" he asked.

I smiled warmly. "Really!"

Naruto smiled back. "I wonder if this is what it's like to have a big brother," I was shocked for a moment but then grinned. "Well you can call me Aniki if you want," Now it was Naruto's turn to look shocked. "Are you sure?" he asked with wide eyes. I gave him another hug.

"Sure, Otouto,"

(Cue Song Aruarian Dance by Nujabes from Samurai Champloo OST - Departure)

After that incident he started calling me Aniki and I would call him Otouto but every now and then I would call him by his name. About a week later I decided that it would be good if we started training our bodies. So after the "mission" I painted a gravity seal on his back. I then used a clone to paint one on mine.

"What's the seal used for Aniki?" Naruto asked.

"This will help us get stronger and faster. It's a gravity seal. Send some chakra into the seal but slowly. Stop when it feels uncomfortable," He did as he was told and slowly he started looking heavier. He stopped after ten seconds so I estimated that he had put on 100 kg. "Ok now we will train like that until it feels natural. Then we will slowly increase the weight. When you are in a fight that is over your head then release the chakra in the gravity seal and you will feel the difference. You will be faster, stronger and will have more stamina." I explained. I myself had put on 100 kg as well. We then worked out a training timetable.

5:00 am - Wake Up

5:30 am - Run as many laps around Konoha as you can in an hour and a half. Try to add another lap every day.

7:00 am - Eat Breakfast

7:30 am - Taijutsu Training

8:30 am - Ninjutsu Training

9:30 am - Meet Team 7 for Mission

3:00 pm - Rasengan Training

4:00 pm - Chakra Control Training

5:00 pm - Learning Konoha History and Politics

6:00 pm - Dinner

7:00 pm - Recreation Time

8:00 pm - Stealth Training

9:00 pm - Kenjutsu Training

10:00 pm - Bed

Over the next two months we stuck to this timetable. While Naruto was learning the Rasengan I sifted through Minato's notes on the Shiki Fuujin as well as other seals. I was trying to replicate one of the features of the Sharingan. When Sasuke used it on Naruto when he was in the Kyuubi state in the second series, a projection of his soul was transported into the seal. There he met the Kyuubi and Naruto was there as well. If I could somehow get into the seal I could grab the piece of Soul Edge and get it back. I also found an interesting jutsu to use. It was called Temporary Height Boost. It allowed the user to grow several feet taller then you were before. But after you stop pushing chakra into the jutsu you would shrink back to normal. It was like a combination of a Kage Bushin and the Henge to make you taller. You create a Kage Bushin around yourself and use henge to give you the height boost. It's difficult to explain but it worked. I now use it to wield Soul Calibur in its original form. 'Man, Zabuza will be jealous,' was the thought I had at the time.

With most of the training I had Naruto use Kage Bushin. I explained the memory side effect and that it could cut down on learning time by half for each clone he uses. He still looked confused though.

"It means that if you have a few thousand Kage Bushin practicing a technique, or training speed, or…whatever…for an hour, then when you dispel those Kage Bunshin, it becomes as though you have been training for a few thousand hours, within the span of an hour. Surely you can understand the implications…" I trailed off, seeing that Naruto's own expression was one of intense thought. He then looked up in excitement. "Awesome!" he said.

As the two months rolled passed Naruto had learned to use the short blade that was sitting on the mantelpiece to the point of being a master at the style I taught him. It relied on quick strikes, focusing on speed rather than strength. I changed Soul Calibur into a straight edge katana shape for this type of training. It felt strange teaching 500 Naruto's at the same time, but it was worth it. Fewer clones were used for ninjutsu training. Rasengan was used with 500 clones as well. Chakra control training was easy when you had a heap of clones. We both had tree climbing in the first lesson and water walking took two lessons. However kunai balancing took much longer. The runs in the morning were done with just the two of us. It was how we met Gai and Lee. Eventually we started running with each other.

By the end of the two months Naruto and I had cranked our gravity seals up to 500 kg. Naruto had learnt Kage Shrunken, four Imperial earth defence jutsu, Katon: Hosenka and Goukakyuu no Jutsu, Fuuton: Daitoppa, Kirigakure no Jutsu, Wind Shunshin and the chakra pulse to blow away genjutsu. He also had a good grasp of the history of Konoha. Stealth training was sneaking round the Hyuuga compound without getting caught. At first we just went around the edges but as we furthered our stealth skills we snuck further into the compound. We never got caught. I once found myself in Hinata's room by accident. 'Man, Hinata looks cute,' I thought. I didn't linger. I didn't want to become a peeping tom.

(Cue Song Naruto's Daily Life by Toshiro Masuda from Naruto Original Soundtrack I)

Right now we were coming back from our 50th D rank mission and what a surprise, it was the cat again. The mission had been entertaining though because the cat had used Sasuke's face as a scratching post. His face had cuts all over. Naruto and I were trying to hold our laughs in. The owner of the runaway cat, a large woman with copious amounts of jewellery and makeup came forward, taking it from Sakura and slowly suffocating it to death between her assets.

Free of the cat, Sakura moved to stand beside Sasuke, a packet of medical bandages in her hand as she tried to get Sasuke to let her heal him, "Please Sasuke-kun, your bleeding…at least let me clean the blood." Sakura pleaded, but the Uchiha scion continued to ignore her.

"Very good work Team 7! Now I have some other missions here for you, you can decide which one to take though. You can baby-sit Yojyu-sama's boy, grocery shopping, weeding a garden-" The Hokage was cut off at that point as a shrill cry of, "TORA-CHAN COME BACK!" was heard through the open window. The Hokage carried on, "Or you can catch Tora-chan again?"

I felt Tazuna's presence behind the door and smiled. I rased my eyes to the Hokage. "Sarutobi, I don't mean to be disrespectful but could we please move on to C-rank missions? This was our 50th D-rank which means we should be eligible for C-rank missions now. These D-rank missions are too easy and boring." Naruto nodded. "Yeah Jiji! Give us a C rank!"

The Hokage thought for a second and seemed to have come to a conclusion. "Alright Josh, Naruto. Since the two of you are so eager I believe I have just the mission for Team 7. It involves escorting a bridge builder back to Wave Country. You will depart from here as soon as possible. Now for the person you're escorting, Tazuna-san you may enter now!" The Hokage shouted so Tazuna could hear him from the other side of the door.

After a few seconds, an old man with a bottle of something alcoholic in his hand and from the way he was moving, he was probably intoxicated. "What? These brats are gonna escort me? The two in white and black look strong but what about the others. Who's the super emo fairy boy?" Tazuna pointed at Sasuke with that last remark. I snorted in laughter.

The Uchiha growled and tried to launch himself at the bridge builder, but Kakashi held him back. "Now now, Sasuke. No killing the customers, it's bad for business." he said, not bothering to look up from his book. While Kakashi was holding Sasuke, Sakura was free to inflict all manners of pain on the old drunk.

"How dare you call Sasuke-kun a fairy boy!!" the banshee screamed and tried to punch Tazuna. Naruto and I held her back. "Dammit Haruno! Stop acting so bitchy to everyone who doesn't like the Uchiha." I said, disgusted. I could see that Naruto was as well. 'Hmm, perhaps he has lost interest in the banshee.' I went over in my head.

We all walked out of the building and Kakashi spoke up. "Ok, meet at the south gate in 1 hour." He then used Shunshin and we were suddenly alone. I then nodded to Naruto and we both used our respective Shunshin. Before the flames blocked my view I saw the shocked faces of the others.

(Cue Song Checklist by Toshihiko Sahashi from Fullmetal Panic Original Sound Track 1)

We arrived at our house. We immediately started preparing ourselves. Naruto went to get his sword while I picked up Soul Calibur. 'I will keep it in its Katana shape until I face Zabuza,' I thought to myself as I exited my room. I met up with Naruto. "I hope you know that this mission isn't a C rank?" I asked Naruto. He nodded as he had heard of the happenings in Wave country thanks to me. Even though I knew about it there was something about it in the paper 5 weeks ago. "It's at the most an A-rank mission. I don't think Gatou would hire S-class nukenin." I smiled at him. "I taught you well Otouto," I said with pride in my voice. He smiled back. "I had a very good teacher, Aniki," We both nodded as we made our way to Ichiraku's for food before we headed out.

We arrived at the Ramen Stand and pushed back the flaps. Ayame was there and I could see Teuchi working behind the low wall separating the kitchen and the serving area. "Hello Ayame!" I called out. She looked up and smiled at the two of us. "Hi guys! What will it be?"

"I'll have two medium bowls of chicken ramen and ten large takeout ramen of the same flavour please," I ordered. "Wow! You guys going to a party?" she asked. I shook my head. "No, we got a long mission now and so I'm going to store the takeout into one of my sealing scrolls," I explained. I then turned to Naruto. "Otouto, you order ten takeouts as well," I instructed. Naruto nodded. "I'll have two medium bowls of miso pork ramen and ten large takeouts of Miso Beef please."

As we were waiting for the food I spotted a supermarket across the road. "Naruto, wait here. I'm going to get some supplies. I don't think ten bowls of ramen will last long for us," I said to the blond. He nodded as I walked over to the store. I ended up getting a few dozen instant ramen cups, a few packets of potato chips, three cooked roast chickens and a couple of packets of frozen vegies for Tsunami and her family for when we got there. I sealed the food straight away and walked over to sit back with Naruto. Our ramen came soon and before I dug into mine I sealed the food into another scroll.

After we had finished there wasn't much time left so I rolled up the food scroll and pushed it into the slot inside my coat. We then Shunshined to the South Gate. When we arrived there the others were all there except for Kakashi; surprise, surprise.

(Cue Song Fooling Mode by Toshiro Masuda from Naruto Original Soundtrack II)

Noticing Sasuke looking at us, no, he was glaring at us, Naruto said, "What are you looking at emo-teme?" Sasuke's eyes bulged in fury. "You, what is that technique?" he demanded, clearly talking to me.

"It's called the Flame Shunshin shit-for-brains," I answered back, pleased with the reaction I got as the Uchiha's hands bawled into fists.

"Teach it to me."

"No."

"What was that?" Sasuke growled, clearly not used to people saying "no" to him.

"I said 'No'. Are you deaf as well as dumb? You can't learn this technique anyway, you need an elemental alignment with fire to learn this specific Shunshin."

"Yo!" Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke ignored his teacher. "What's an 'Elemental Alignment'?"

For once I was shocked speechless. This runt Uchiha didn't know what an 'Elemental Alignment' was? I turned to Naruto. "Seeing as I can't be bothered talking to a dumb Uchiha, why don't you say it Otouto." I smirked at the twitch Sasuke when I mentioned the word 'Otouto'.

"Hai, Aniki! It's the element that you are in tuned to. I am very strongly in tuned to the wind element. Aniki's is fire and the strength is so strong it's unbelievable!" answered Naruto.

'Damn right it is,' I thought as I recalled what had happened.

-Flashback-

(Cue Song Shingata Heiki by Toshihiko Sahashi vrom Full Metal Panic Fumoffu OST)

"Naruto, today we are going to find out what element you are!" I said enthusiastically as I rummaged around the basement.

"Ok! But, what are you looking for?" asked Naruto. I opened a drawer and found what I was looking for.

"Taadaa!" I cheered as I held up a pack of cards. Naruto cocked his head to the side. "What's so special about them?" he asked in clear confusion.

I grinned. "These are cards made of a wood that has had chakra streamed into it from a young age. The cards react to chakra and show you what you chakra element is. Remember I told you what the elements are?" I tested.

Naruto assumed Iruka's teaching stance and resited, "Fire, Wind, Lightning, Water and Earth are the Main elements. The Sub-elements are Ice, Wood and Metal. And the Supreme elements are Light, Dark and Void."

"That's right. Most people only know of the Main and Sub elements and only a select few know of the Supreme elements. I'll demonstrate how to do this." I took one of the cards and set the rest aside. "First you hold the card with both hands," I showed him this step. "Then you channel a small amount of your chakra into the card and wait. If the card smoulders round the edge, then it means you have the fire element. Ok, I'm going to start now." Just like I said I channelled a small amount of my chakra into the card.

At first nothing happened. But then the card flashed into an intense white as if I had just lit a piece of magnesium! I turned away from the light and dropped the card onto the ground. After a few seconds I saw through my eyelids that the process had finished. I opened my eyes and looked around for the remains, only to find nothing. Absolutely nothing. The card had been completely pulverised. I doubted that even atoms were left.

Naruto looked in shock. "What does that mean?" he asked.

"I think that meant that my element is fire," I answered in a shaky voice. Naruto looked at me with disbelief plastered over his face. "But it didn't burn," he said.

"No it did," I said. "When you do this, not only will the element be revealed but also the strength. For example, if I had a weak wind element, the card would just slice in half. But if it was strong then the whole card would be cut up into thousands of pieces. Judging from the reaction I got from the fire side, I'd say my fire strength is on par with the God of Fire Himself!"

"Holy shit…" breathed Naruto in awe.

-End Flashback-

"Well done Otouto," I congratulated Naruto. He beamed at me. I then turned to Sasuke. "See Uchiha? Naruto is way smarter that you." Sasuke looked like he was just about to explode so I decided to stop teasing him.

Kakashi eyed me and Naruto but said nothing. Instead he turned to Tazuna. "Well, were all here? Let's go." And with that, we started walking out of the village.

(Cue Song Epsylon Range by Nobuo Uematsu from Lost Odyssey Original Soundtrack)

We had been travelling for about a day and a half at this point. We were nearing the docks were we would take a small row boat across the water into the land of waves. So far there had been no sign of the Demon Brothers. The night that we camped out had been uneventful and pretty safe thanks to all of Naruto's shadow clones keeping watch.

I was starting to think if maybe the two weren't with Zabuza when I saw the puddle. I smirked. 'Man, those two may know a lot about fighting but they sure slip up with common sense,' I thought.

(Cue Song Cell & Piccolo Face Off by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. II)

"Hey Otouto? Do you think there's a storm coming?" I asked in a cryptic manner. Naruto picked up on it and grinned. "A little water won't hurt us but it might make pinky's manicure run and the dark one might get a swollen head." I nodded as we slowly shifted positions. The week before we worked out cryptic words and sentences to use for communication in enemy territory. This was the perfect time to use them. "I think scarecrow will let us dance on our own though," I said to Naruto, indicating that Kakashi might let us deal with them unassisted. "But I think that you should put up an umbrella for the old man though." I added. Naruto nodded.

(Cue Song The Gun Barrel of Battle by Nobuo Uematsu from Lost Odyssey Original Soundtrack)

I felt them coming. I could feel the chakra and smell the poison on their weapons. By the time every one else heard their attack and turned around to watch Kakashi get sliced to bits, I also saw the Kawarimi that he pulled off. Naruto sprinted to Tazuna, grabbing Sakura in the process, and skidded to a halt in front of him. He went through hand signs to summon a protective wall of earth shouting, "Stay behind me Tazuna-san. Doton: Imperial Turret no Jutsu!" A thick tube of earth erupted from the ground around them, blocking the ninja's advance. Seeing there path was blocked for the moment, the Demon Brothers swerved to face me. "You've got good reaction time," said the one on the left. "But we're out of your league boy!" finished the one on the right. They then shot the chains that ripped apart Kakashi's substitution log, at me, intending to do the same. 'Oh no you don't!'

I unsheathed Soul Calibur and focused its power. Then I slashed at the air, releasing the pent up energy. Two bright blue slicing shockwaves blasted out of the shimmering sword and cut straight through each chain. Pieces of the sliced chain whipped past me and imbedded themselves into the trees. The two brothers looked shocked before the one on the right fell to the ground unconscious, thanks to Naruto who seamed to have switched with a clone. The one on the left looked at his brother in shock. "Gozu!!" he cried out before he too fell unconscious thanks to me bashing the side of his neck. Naruto's clone then dropped the wall showing a scared looking Tazuna and a scared looking Sakura before dispersing himself. Naruto then looked around for a moment. "Alright Kakashi-sensei come on out!" "What are you talking about Dobe? Kakashi-sensei was killed by these two." Sasuke stated rather coldly.

(Cue Music Silence)

"Do you really have such little faith in your sensei, Sasuke? Maybe I should stop teaching you if you believe I would die that easily." Kakashi said as he appeared behind Sasuke. "Kakashi-sensei!" said Sakura as if she was surprised to see her sensei still alive. I turned to her. "Of course he's alive. Didn't you see that Kawarimi he pulled?" Sakura looked pissed and was just about to _try_ to hit me when Naruto stepped in between us. "Haruno-san. Stop taking your anger out on others." he said rather coldly. Sakura stopped at that. Kakashi looked at Naruto. "Naruto, that was a pretty interesting jutsu you used, who taught it to you?" he asked.

Naruto gave a foxy grin. "Aniki taught it to me!" he said. Another thing we mentioned was that we would keep our new house a secret for now and so all jutsu Naruto learned he would say that I taught him. Kakashi looked at me as if trying to determine if I was lying. After a few moments he looked at Tazuna. "Well Tazuna you can tell us willingly or I can force it out of you. Make your choice quickly."

Tazuna waved his hands out in front of him in defeat. "Alright I'll tell you! There's a crooked business man in the land of waves. You've probably heard of him he's pretty well known already. His name's Gatoh."

Kakashi spoke up. "Yes I've heard of him, he's a business tycoon. Likes to handle marine transport, he's also head of The Gatoh Company. He's currently one of the richest men in the world."

"Yes, well marine transport is only the front for his real work. He smuggles drugs and all kinds of contraband, he takes over companies and runs many illegal business' as well. In truth he's more of a mobster than a business man." Tazuna explained. "When he came to the Land of Waves he used violence and money to completely take over our sea traffic and marine transport, hiring ninja's and thugs to do his dirty work. In a country like the Land of Waves our economy depends on marine transport for import and export. When Gatoh took that over he started charging everyone ridiculous prices and our economy suffered. Now he wants to stop me from finishing the bridge."

"Because if you finish that bridge Gatoh will no longer be in control. You'll be able to accept goods from any traveling merchants and sell your wares to travelers, eventually your economy would do better." Kakashi put in.

"Right. That's also why I didn't mention the chance of a ninja attack, we simply cannot afford anuthing above a C-Rank mission." Tazuna finished with a grim look on his face.

"Well since this mission is now ranked an A, too high for my team, we'll head back to Konoha." Kakashi stated in a monotone. "You're welcome to join us or head on back to your home. Your choice."

"Stop being so cold hearted Kakashi. These people need us. I for one can't turn my back to them, right Otouto?" I asked. "Right, Aniki!" yelled Naruto.

Kakashi sighed. "Josh, Naruto, there's no shame in backing down from a mission that's too difficult for your level. You four aren't ready for a mission of this difficulty yet. The next time they attack Tazuna it will probably be with more chunin or even a few jounin. I can't protect you four and Tazuna from that many ninja."

"But we just took on two chunin level nins with next to no trouble, Kakashi-sensei! If we're not ready now when will we be ready? The life of a shinobi is always full of danger if we don't face it now we'll just be more nervous next time. I say we carry on the mission." Naruto said with confidence. I grinned. 'Naruto has grown up these past couple of months,'

"But we're not even getting full pay for this mission." Kakashi argued.

"What's wrong with that? Your just complaining that you won't get extra money to read extra smut. And anyways, it's not always about the money. These people need our help and we can provide. I agree with Naruto. We carry on the mission." I said.

Sakura looked at Naruto in awe if that was at all possible. Sasuke just looked indifferent he would follow his sensei either way. Kakashi looked at his four charges and then at Tazuna. From the looks he was getting he just couldn't drop this mission. He sighed heavily, "Okay, we'll carry on with the mission. Remember though I can't guarantee your safety if we come across a lot of ninja. Seeing as we're going, Naruto, can you leave some clones to tie these guys up?" He pointed at the unconscious ninjas.

"I'll do it Kakashi," I said as I created a Kage Bushin. Kakashi nodded. "Ok then. Everyone, lets go." He said as we walked along the road but not before I gave instructions to my clone.

-Clones perspective-

(Cue Song Confrontment by Toshiro Masuda from Naruto Original Soundtrack II)

I watched as my master walked away and made sure they were gone before tying them up. I then woke them up. They didn't look happy at all.

"You little punk!" said Meizu. Gozu struggled against the ropes. "When we get out of these ropes we're going to kill you!" he roared before noticing something. "Hey? Where are the other brats?" he asked.

"My master and the others have already left. I'm a clone. I'm going to let you go now but before I do that I will relay the message my master left." The Demon Brothers looked confused but waited.

"If Zabuza and his group are tired from running away from Kiri hunter-nin then my master extends the current invitation. Zabuza and his group may come to live in Konoha if they wish. My master is the last of the clan and if you swore felty to him then you would be under the protection of the Kitsune Clan. My master does not wish for you to bow down to him, nor does he want you to be his slaves. You would be like brothers and sisters to him, equal in status. Of course my master won't make you join the clan, it is your choice." I paused to study their faces. They looked shocked and hopeful. "By the was Meizu, Gozu, do you know of the sword Soul Calibur?" I asked.

"Of course. Anybody who's anybody in Kiri knows about the legendary sword and it's brother, Soul Edge. But why? And how the hell do you know our names?" demanded Meizu.

"That's for my master to know and for you to go crazy wondering about. As for why my master asked the question, he is the wielder of Soul Calibur." I finished.

"Bullshit! No-one can wield either of the Soul Swords without getting his soul corrupted in either direction!" yelled Gozu. I just shook my head. "If you don't believe me then just follow us until we fight Zabuza. My master will unleash Soul Calibur and fight with him. Now I will cut your bonds and if you decide to follow, please try to think your way through this one. The puddle was painfully obvious to my master and his friend, as well as his teacher." With that I untied the rope and dismissed myself.

-Back to me-

I smiled as I gained the memories of the clone. Now all I had to do is wait and hope that they take my offer.


	7. Chapter 7: Carbon Steel Verses Calibur

**Chapter 7: Carbon Steel Verses Calibur Crystal**

(Cue Song Approach by Frank Klepacki from Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun)

The rest of the journey to the border was uneventful. Knowing that Zabuza would ambush us in Wave country I allowed myself to relax a bit. Every now and then I felt the Demon Brothers presence but they kept it well hidden. Not even Kakashi felt them. 'Their stealth is almost as good as mine and Naruto's. They'll be good to have around,' I thought as we continued on. Eventually we got to the sea. There a middle aged man in a boat waited for us.

"Hey Tazuna, glad you could make it," he said quietly. He then turned to us. "Huh, are these the ones? They're just kids."

"They may be just kids, but they already have already saved my life once," said Tazuna. I smirked. "Glad that you're opinion of us has improved Tazuna-san."

The man in the boat nodded once before motioning us to get in. As we road along the channel a sea mist rolled in to obscure everything.

"The mist is so thick. I can't see what lies ahead," muttered Sakura quietly.

Naruto was sitting in the front. I was behind him on the starboard side while Sasuke was on the port side. Sakura was sitting in the middle with Kakashi and Tazuna was in the back with the man rowing us to the other side.

"We should be able to see the bridge soon," said the rowing man. "If we move along the side of the bridge, we'll be at the Country of the Wave."

Slowly the bridge loomed out of the mist. It was roughly 20 meters high. There was construction equipment at the end of the bridge where it was unfinished.

Naruto breathed in deeply to say something but remembered where he was and why they were being quiet. "Wow! What a huge bridge!" he whispered.

"Impressive Tazuna. Very impressive," I said to the old man. The senior bridge builder smiled at the compliment.

We continued the ride in silence. At the start of the bridge we entered tunnels that led through the border. The tunnel was lit up with red lights to light the way.

"Looks like we have passed through the border unnoticed," said the rowing man.

On the other side of the tunnel was a small town. All the buildings were supported over the water. A few trees braved the salt water; the earth between the roots had been washed away, long ago.

The boat parked against a jetty and we all pilled out. The boatman looked up at Tazuna. "This is as far as I go. Later."

"Sure. Thanks a lot," thanked Tazuna.

He nodded as the man turned on the motor and sped away. Tazuna turned to us. "All right, take me home safely,"

"Hai, hai," said Kakashi.

We walked away from the village. I was on high alert. I knew Zabuza was around here somewhere. Naruto seemed to have noticed my alertness and copied me, looking to either side. By this time the sea mist had disappeared. The sun was out, birds were chirping. It was deceptively calm.

We both seemed to feel someone's presence and we both at the same time flicked a kunai into the bushes on our right. We waited, but nothing stirred. I looked around. Sakura was wide eyed with her mouth open. Tazuna was in no better shape. Kakashi looked a bit startled and the Uchiha just looked normal, well for him anyways. 'Man, Armageddon could knock on his door and he wouldn't even flinch,'

Naruto and I investigated what had happened and, pushing ourselves through the undergrowth we found a rabbit scared shitless. The two kunai were imbedded into the tree right behind it. The other four came to see what the fuss was and saw this scene. Sakura was just about to blow her top when I placed my hand in front of her mouth. "Sakura, we don't need you yelling your head off right now. You can yell your heart out later. We are in enemy territory, so to speak, so shush for the moment." I took away my hand and turned to Naruto. "Test time Otouto, analyse what just happened."

"Hai Aniki. This is a snow rabbit. But its fur is white. Snow rabbits have white fur in the winter but here it is summer and the fur changes colour to brown. So this rabbit has recently come from a place where it is very cold, but it isn't cold here at the moment. Therefore this animal has been used for a Kawarimi Jutsu," said Naruto, finishing his analyse. I smiled. "Good work Otouto." I congratulated before settling into a guard stance. Naruto did the same. We all moved out into the open. I then heard a swishing sound and knew what it was.

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN!!!" I roared, pushing Sakura and Tazuna down when Naruto pushed Sasuke down. Kakashi was fine by himself. A giant zanbato spun right over us and slammed hard into a tree in front of us. A tall man with blue pants, brown and white arm warmers and a facemask made out of wide bandages body flickered onto the long handle of the sword. He looked at us with piercing dark grey eyes; a Mist headband tied round the top of his head sideways, pushing up his short black hair.

I stood up and walked towards him. "Momochi Zabuza of the Hidden Mist Village. I am honoured to meet a member of the infamous Seven Swordsmen of the Mist." I said with respect in my voice.

"Ohhh? So you know me, eh?" said Zabuza, eyeing me.

"I know enough," I smirked at him. I turned my attention to Kakashi. "He's all yours, but you only get one turn. If you get caught, then I'll give him a sword match." I then stepped aside, letting Kakashi take over.

(Cue Song Obsession II from Getbackers OST 01)

"Kakashi of the Sharingan. There was a profile on you in our bingo book back in Kirigakure, we had an order to kill you on sight. You were also listed as the man who had copied over a thousand jutsu, giving you the second nickname of the copycat nin. I'm guessing you won't just hand over the old man?" Zabuza asked Kakashi.

"Afraid not. I'm gonna need to use _this_ to fight you by the looks of things." Kakashi said as he reached up and uncovered his left eye revealing the Sharingan.

"I'm honored you feel that you must fight at your fullest to take me down. I'm afraid you won't have time to use it though." Zabuza disappeared as soon as the final word left his mouth. Not only that, but the mist started to thicken.

"Protect Tazuna! Don't drop you're guard for a second! Zabuza is a master of the silent killing technique, he could kill you in an instant and you never know until you were dead. His first target will probably be me." Kakashi informed us four.

After a few more seconds of waiting, the mist thickened enough to make Kakashi invisible to us and the client who were only a few feet away.

Zabuza's voice then pierced through the mist. "Eight points; Larynx, Spine, Lungs, Liver, Jugular, Sub-clavian Artery, Kidneys, Heart. Which one shall be my kill point?"

I turned to Naruto. "Naruto, Chakra Pulse, now!" I said. He nodded and started charging his chakra until you could see the waves of blue energy flowing off him.

"Chakra Pulse, KAI!" he yelled and released the energy. The chakra laden mist was blasted away. The trees around us wavered as the chakra shockwave passed through them. We then saw Kakashi standing in front of us and Zabuza on top of the water. Kakashi turned to look at us two. "Thanks for that. I would have done that myself but you did it first, that saved me some chakra."

Kakashi looked over to Sasuke, he was shaking and gripping his kunai tightly. What happened next annoyed the Jounin slightly, Sasuke had started drawing his kunai up to his throat. "SASUKE! Snap out of it! You have your team here, we're here to watch your back. Don't worry you're not dying on my watch." Kakashi shouted over to the Uchiha.

Sasuke visibly relaxed after Kakashi's lecture. He instantly tensed up again though, at the next thing he saw though. Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi and swung his huge sword diagonally through Kakashi's right shoulder. But instead of blood spraying out, Kakashi just turned into water. "Sorry, Zabuza, you're gonna have to try harder than that!" Came Kakashi's voice from behind the demon of the mist.

"Mizu Bushin no Jutsu? I see you'd already copied it. Very skilful making your clone say that speech so as to draw my attention." Zabuza stated in a cold voice.

Kakashi dug a kunai into Zabuza's back, instead of dying though Zabuza burst into water. "And you've created more than one." Kakashi stated in a monotone.

"Of course." Came Zabuza's voice, again, behind Kakashi. He brought his sword down in the same movement as his clone only to have it blocked by Kakashi's kunai. "Good. If you'd used another clone I'd be annoyed." Zabuza quickly stepped back and brought his sword down in the opposite direction causing Kakashi to duck. The sword flew over Kakashi's head and dug into the ground. Zabuza quickly shifted his grip on the hilt and used the leverage to bring up a powerful kick sending Kakashi crashing into a body of water.

Kakashi's head broke the surface looking slightly confused, only to have Zabuza appear behind the gray-haired Jounin, he sped through hand seals and shouted out his jutsu. "Suiro no Jutsu!" Kakashi was enveloped in the water and quickly trapped in a sphere that was held by Zabuza's right hand. "Now to get rid of your little brats, Mizu Bushin no Jutsu!"

Kakashi looked to his students and shouted out his order. "Take the bridge builder and run, this guy is on a whole other level, you can't win this!"

I looked at him. "Not a chance Kakashi. Your turn is finished. Now it's my turn." I turned to Sasuke and Sakura. "You two, protect Tazuna!" Sasuke glared at me. "No way. You'll die without my help," he said arrogantly. I grinned. "Well then Sasuke, I'll just have to use that favour that you owe me." The Uchiha gritted his teeth but acknowledged the plan. I turned to Naruto. "Naruto, you're with me as support ok?" I asked. He nodded. I flipped through the handseals and said, "Temporary Height Boost Jutsu!" I instantly grew a few feet taller. I then unsheathed my sword at the water clone in front of us.

"Hm, nice sword kid, but shouldn't you be back with your parents getting ready for nap time, little boy?"

"Sorry, all out of parents," I said. "Time to whoop ass,"

"Listen here, you little brat! I don't care who you think you are, but you have no hope of matching me!"

(Cue Song Trunks Appears by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. III)

"Well maybe I should show you this sword's true form!" I said loudly for all to hear. I then sent the mental command for the sword to change. Just like last time a white glow covered the sword and what was left behind when the glow disappeared shocked all but Naruto and I. I raised the new sword into the air, roaring, "THE SOUL CALIBUR IS UNLEASHED!!!" I then dispelled my gravity seal and with my new speed flickered all over the battlefield. Less than a second later I returned to where I was standing. There was a short silence then all of the water clones were blasted with intense force. The clones exploded into fine mist. Everyone was bug eyed at the display of speed and power.

-Thought's POV-

'What speed! I could just keep up with my Sharingan!' thought Kakashi.

'Hell yeah! Aniki's so awesome!' cried out Naruto in his mind.

'What the? How is he so fast? And what's up with that sword? I've never seen such a sword. I must find out his secret so I can gain the power to kill _him_,' thought Sasuke.

'What the hell? How did he do that?' thought Sakura.

'He's strong. Very strong.' Thought Tazuna.

'He's so fast! And is that really the Legendary Soul Calibur?! Sword of the Heavens?! If so, then I can't win here,' thought Zabuza in awe.

'OMG!!! He really did have Soul Calibur!' thought both Meizu and Gozu from their hiding spot.

-Normal POV-

I stood there, Soul Calibur glimmering with power. I pointed the sword to Zabuza. "Release Kakashi Zabuza or I'll slash you arm off quicker that you can say Kiri. Then we'll have ourselves a little match!" I grinned. Zabuza immediately stepped back, ripping his hand out of the water prison. Kakashi steadied himself on top of the water and was just about to strike when I Flame Shunshined in front of him.

"Josh! What are you doing?" he asked. I turned to him and smiled. "I'm going to fight him and test how strong I am. You sit on the shore and enjoy the match."

(Cue Song Those Who Fight (FFVII AC Version) by Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children OST)

I then launched myself at Zabuza and started performing a series of precision strikes at him. His blocks barley held up. He then started to counterattack but it looked like he was moving in slow motion. I blocked every single strike from his sword. Sparks flew off from the contact of our swords and showered the both of us. I then took a swipe at Zabuza and he pulled his sword up to block. The result was a deep scratch down the full length of his sword. I then turned Soul Calibur sideways and swung the sword like a baseball bat, sending him flying back to the shore and slamming againsed a tree hard. He coughed up blood as I Shunshined towards him and pointed the sword just inches away from his throat. "It's over," I said. He painfully lifted his head and said, "To think that I would ever see Soul Calibur in my life, or that I would ever be beaten by a kid." He would have said more if not for two sebon needles to pierce his neck.

(Cue Music Silence)

'Ah, Haku. Glad you could join us,'

I looked up to see a Kirigakure hunter-nin dressed in a blue battle kimono. He jumped down and walked over to Zabuza's still form. "Thank you, I've been tracking him for months." He said. I stepped away as she hefted the body over his shoulder and disappeared.

"Yay! You did it Aniki!" shouted Naruto as everyone ran over to me. "Those were some nice moves Josh, but how did you get so fast? You weren't that fast when I tested you?" asked Kakashi. I smirked and said, "I have a 500kg gravity seal on my back Kakashi. I just released the weight before going into battle, which reminds me," I said as I placed chakra into the seal until it was back to 500kg. "500kg! That's a little less than what Gai used when he was twice your age!" he exclaimed. Sasuke then stepped forward. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"Otouto! Test time! Explain what the gravity seal is," I barked.

"Hai! A gravity seal is a seal that makes you heavier the more chakra is pushed into it. Training with it on is a great way to increase stamina, reaction time, strength but most of all, speed. As soon as you get used to the weight you add more chakra to the seal. I also have one on my back. It's also 500kg though if I release mine I don't think I would be faster that Aniki. But you can't put too much on or your muscles won't be able to take the strain. Also if you ever use weight for the first time you shouldn't put on more then what feels comfortable or you will burn out your muscles," He explained. I smiled. "Well done. 10/10. Four points for the explanation, three for the warning and three for the advice. Stay on your toes though. I will continue to test you over time." Naruto nodded.

Just then Kakashi grunted and fell to one knee. I looked down at him. "Kakashi, you know better that to keep the Sharingan active for so long," I said. Kakashi just laughed weakly. I sighed. "Guess I have no choice." I created two Kage Bushin to help Kakashi and then turned to Tazuna. "So Tazuna-san, which way is your home?" I said as I created another clone. Tazuna stared for a second and then came to his senses. "Oh! About four or five miles that way." He replied, pointing to seemingly random direction through the forest.

I turned to the clone. "Release your weights and go. Head that way until you find his home, take look around and then dispel yourself I need to know where I'm going for a Shunshin. Now, go!" The clone just disappeared at that. No smoke, he just disappeared. "Okay, it should take a couple of minutes until I get the information I need. Naruto, Tazuna-san, Sakura and Sasuke-teme, put a hand on my shoulder and brace yourselves. If this is your first shunshin it might feel a little rough." I started going through hand-seals.

Sasuke watched as Naruto, Sakura and Tazuna obediently put a hand on each of my shoulder's. "Why should I take your orders, Dobe? You're not team leader." Sasuke stated coldly.

"It's no order Sasuke. If you want to run to his home by yourself be my guest. I'll leave some clones in the surrounding forest to watch over you. This is just a suggestion since I can get us to our destination quickly and our Jounin leader is unconscious, we're pretty vulnerable. Now either put your hand on my shoulder or start running." I replied.

Sasuke glared at me for a second, 'hmphed' and put a hand on one of my shoulder's. "I'm not following your order, I'd just rather get there in an instant than have to run through the forest." Sasuke quickly stated.

"Whatever," I said with a small smile which broke off suddenly as I got the info I needed. "Alright the bunshin just dispelled itself. Hang on tight!" I performed a final hand-seal and disappeared in a puff of smoke with everyone else in tow. A second later and the two holding Kakashi disappeared as well.

A puff of smoke appeared in front of a house on some docks. When the smoke cleared a person staggered forward and almost fell over until Naruto stepped forward and steadied them. "Whoa! Watch it guys, Aniki told you to brace yourselves!" Naruto told Sakura in a comforting voice.

Sakura put her hands on her knees and started breathing deeply. Tazuna just stayed standing, apparently already over the disorientation, probably from practice, being drunk and having to sober up. Sasuke just stood where they had landed, looking uninterested. And Naruto was completely fine, having used the jutsu many times before.

"Okay guys, get inside. Me and Naruto are gonna set up some clones to watch the surrounding area. And Sasuke, it's just a suggestion as usual, you can go train or whatever if you want. We'll be inside in a few minutes to explain why we had to get here as fast as possible. Come on Naruto." At that, Naruto and I dashed into the forest and my clones started for the house eager to get Kakashi to a bed so he can rest.

We returned after ten minutes of placing our clones. I then sat down. "How's Kakashi-sensei doing?" Naruto asked Sakura as she sat down.

"He's fine. He's still resting, he'll probably wake up in a day, or less even." Sakura answered.

"Good. We got some shadow clones in the forest surrounding the shore and I put some water clones in the water around the docks. If anyone who is not recognized as a friend approaches the house, they'll be attacked on sight by the water clones. Each clone can last a good few days if they don't use jutsu so I'll have to replenish them later on." I took a deep breath. "As for why we needed to get here quickly. Zabuza isn't dead."

Sasuke's eyes widened, Sakura gasped and Tazuna's only sign of surprise was a confused, "Huh?" Naruto knew because I told him outside.

"That hunter Nin was a fake and probably working for Zabuza. Think about it, hunter ninjas are supposed to dispose of the body of a rouge ninja wherever he or she was killed. This is to ensure no mistakes are made and absolutely nothing is left behind. That hunter nin though, picked up Zabuza's body and took it somewhere else. The weapons he used were also abnormal for a hunter nin, do you remember what they were?" I asked Naruto with a solemn look.

"He was using throwing needles, senbon." Naruto stated. "They're just needles usually used for medicinal purposes, like acupuncture, that have been modified." I smiled at him. He was getting really smart. "That's right. Hunter nins are also trained to know the human body, inside and out. That's what I've read anyway. If that's true then it should be pretty easy for a hunter nin to use senbon and hit pressure points that will temporarily stop the heart and put a person in a death state." I looked to each of my team-mates faces. All three of them were staring at me intently. "It'll probably be a while before he can fight at his fullest though. A week or so to recover from the temporary death state, stopping the heart is nothing to laugh at. All we can do at the moment is wait for Kakashi to wake up and give us more orders." I finished.

"How can you be so calm? You're gonna die if you go against Gatoh and his guys." A small boy announced as he entered the dining area with his mother.

'Oh boy, here we go,' I thought.

"Inari! How can you say such things to the people who kept your Ojii-san safe!?" His mother scorned.

Tazuna, completely ignoring what the child, known as Inari, said. Opened his arms in an invitation for a hug while shouting. "Inari!"

Inari ran to Tazuna and embraced him in a hug, shouting just as his grandfather had. "Ojii-san!" After a few seconds of this heart-warming reunion, they separated and Inari's mother looked to the two additions at the table.

"Hello there, I'm Tsunami, Inari-kun's mother and Tazuna's daughter. I have already been introduced to your team-mates and sensei when some of your... clones, as Sakura-chan called them, brought in your sensei and your team-mates followed. I felt it would be better to introduce myself to the real you." Tsunami explained as she bowed to Naruto and me in greeting.

We stood up. "Hello Tsunami, my name is Josh Ryu Kitsune," I said.

"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto," said Naruto. "Thank you for allowing us into your home." We both said at the same time while bowing.

Tsunami smiled lightly. "No thanks necessary you two. It was the least I could do since you helped my Otou-san. I should also tell you that your sensei is awake. He woke up a little before I came down here."

I quickly thanked Tsunami again for informing us. I asked Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura to come with me upstairs and we quickly made our way upstairs. We found Kakashi lying down on the futon but his eye was open.

"Hey guys. What's up?" he asked. I got straight to the point. "Zabuza is still alive Kakashi,"

Kakashi's eye widened, "What do you mean?" he asked. I then relayed my explanation to the silver haired Jounin. After everything was said he nodded. "That makes sense. By the way," he said as he looked at the sword hanging at my side. "What is that sword?" Sasuke and Sakura both nodded. I sighed. 'I would have to tell them sometime,'

(Cue song Interval of Freezed Time from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time - Original Soundtrack Vol.1 - Disc 02)

"This sword is called Soul Calibur," I started to explain as I unsheathed the crystal sword. "The sword can form into any weapon." I demonstrated by forming the sword into a perfect replica of Cloud's Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII, then changing it to the broadsword shape. "But its original shape is this," I then let the sword resume its normal shape. Everyone stared at the sword in awe. Looking closer I saw that the sword had a light blue sheen, shining through the crystals. I then changed the sword back to the broadsword shape and I sheathed the sword once again. Kakashi was the first to gain his voice.

"How did you get such a sword?" he said. I grinned. "Those who deserve to know, already do." I said as I looked at Naruto. He in turn put his hand behind his head. "Heh, heh. Thanks Aniki," he said, grinning.

"Well, I'm going to turn in for the day but first, let's unseal some tasty ramen. C'mon Otouto," I said as we both walked back to the dinning room. "Yay! Ramen!" yelled Naruto.


	8. Chapter 8: Wings of an Angel, Heart of

**Chapter 8: Wings of an Angel, Heart of a Warrior**

(Cue song Kaname no Kitchen by Toshihiko Sahashi from Fullmetal Panic Original Sound Track 1)

I woke the next day feeling very groggy. I got out of bed silently since I saw that Sasuke was in another bed a little ways from mine, almost on the other side of the room. I just shook my head at the Uchiha as I pulled my clothes on and reattached all my various pouches and holsters. When I finally felt ready, after a quick visit to the bathroom, I headed out for some morning exercises. I felt great; a full night's worth of sleep had fully replenished my chakra reserves. I first raised the weight seal level since I felt too light and started on a light jog. Afterwards I went through the usual physical exercises. Once I had finished those I jogged back to the house to cool down. When I got through the front door I found that everyone else had woken up and come to the table for breakfast, except Kakashi who was probably still asleep, in his absence.

"Hello everyone," I said. Naruto grinned at me. "Morning Aniki!" he said energetically. Sasuke just "Hn" ed at me before turning away. Sakura didn't say anything. Tsunami turned around from where she was standing in the kitchen. "Good morning Josh-kun. Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Like a log. I didn't realise how tired I was until I laid down to sleep last night." I turned to Naruto. "Did you do your morning run?" I asked. He nodded. "Since you weren't here I just did 100 laps around the house. I'll do the full workout after breakfast ok?" he asked. I nodded. "Today we're still going to train ok?" Naruto nodded, grinning.

I grinned back at him and looked over to the other two at the table; Inari and Tazuna were both looking down at the table. Tazuna obviously had a hangover, while Inari just seemed depressed. I decided not to press matters further with the two.

After a few minutes, Tsunami came from the kitchen with a bowl of himono for everyone. Naruto eagerly accepted his bowl and shouted "Itadakimasu!" and, unlike his usual method of eating which would be to wolf the food down, ate at a normal pace. This brought a stare from Sakura and Sasuke, who were used to seeing him inhale his food. After a couple of seconds of staring they too, dug in. I grinned. In the two months before this mission I had taught Naruto table manners.

When everyone was almost done, Kakashi finally made an appearance. He was advancing down the stairs slowly, taking them one at a time and using crutches for support. He greeted everyone with a lazy, "Yo." and sat down. As soon as he showed up, Tsunami was in the kitchen and after a couple of minutes was back at the table with another bowl for Kakashi. He accepted it with an eye smile and a lazy "Arigatou."

(Cue song Philosophy in a Tea Cup by Tsuneo Imahori from Trigun - the first donuts)

We were in a clearing, in the woods, some distance from the house. Kakashi had taken us out as soon as we had finished our breakfast. "Alright, training starts today. First off, I want to go over chakra. It's a ninja's basic source of power. Understanding chakra is essential." Kakashi explained to us.

"We know that." Sasuke stated flatly.

"Are you so sure, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked in a bored voice.

"Well, we did go over chakra in the academy Kakashi-sensei. We know chakra is used to perform jutsu, we know it's a balance of physical and spiritual energies. Then there's the hand-seals, used to focus and unleash the chakra. For you to bring this up though, there must be something else to it, huh, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, looking up from his thinking pose.

"That's right Naruto. I guess you did learn something from Iruka-sensei, after all." Kakashi replied. 'I know what's coming,' I thought.

"What's the big deal, we're already using chakra energy in our jutsu." Sasuke stated flatly, again. 'Yep, I knew it,'

"No! You haven't mastered this power. You've barely even scratched the surface of it. Listen, each jutsu requires different types of chakra, in different proportions. You have to select and combine them in the right way. Up to now you've just guessed at those proportions, hoping they come out right. Even if you produce a lot of chakra, unless you can balance and control it, it's all worthless. The jutsu won't work at all, or it won't work right. You use so much energy this way, then your out of chakra and you can't fight at all. You become just a target. I'm gonna have you train so hard that controlling chakra becomes second nature. To achieve the goal you must be ready to put your life on the line." Kakashi replied with a slight frown over his uncovered eye.

Hearing this, Naruto and I grinned, Sasuke just carried on staring not giving anything away, while Sakura had a slight worried look on her face. "So, what do we have to do?" Sakura finally asked.

"Simple, climb a tree." Kakashi replied with an eye smile.

"Climb a tree!" Sasuke and Sakura exclaimed, showing slight shock.

"What he actually means is 'Tree _Walking_'. It's where you walk up the tree using chakra to make yourself stick to the side of the tree." I explained. "Kakashi, Naruto and I have already done this so we're going to do our own personal training ok?" I asked.

"Oh yeah? Prove it," said Kakashi, obviously not believing me.

"Fine! Otouto, let's do this so we can do our own training." I said, pissed that Kakashi won't believe me. Naruto nodded. "Let's do it!" We then proceeded to walk up the tree, without running, all the way to the top. We then walked down to the lowest branch and hung upside down for effect. The looks on their faces was priceless. 'As soon as I get back to the village, I'm buying a camera for these little moments,' I thought as Naruto and I successfully held our laughing in. We pushed ourselves off and somersaulted once before landing perfectly on the ground.

"Well, we'll be going now," I called to Kakashi as we both walked out of the clearing. Only when we were sure we were out of hearing range we laughed loudly. Naruto was the first to recover slightly. "Man, did you see their faces? I thought their eyes were going to fall out!" I nodded, rolling around on the grass. "I know! Man do I wish we had a camera," I said, tears falling out of my eyes.

Eventually we got ourselves under control and we started hammering out our new training timetable for while we were in Wave.

5:00 am - Wake Up

5:30 am - 1000 Laps around the House

7:00 am - Eat Breakfast

7:30 am - Kenjutsu Training

8:30 am - Ninjutsu Training

9:30 am - Guard Tazuna

4:00 pm - Chakra Control Training

5:00 pm - Taijutsu Training

6:00 pm - Dinner

7:00 pm - Recreation Time

9:00 pm - Bed

Afterwards I remembered to tell Naruto about my plans. He said that would be fine.

"I also want to build my own house for my new clan. Would it be alright if I built it alongside yours so then we would still be close together?" I asked. Naruto grinned. "Better yet, we can just build add ons to the house that's already there. Then we can be two clans under the same roof." I nodded. "That's a great idea! I'm surprised I didn't think about it first." I said, very impressed with Naruto.

Since it was 7:30 we started with Kenjutsu and went from there. The whole day we trained through Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu and Taijutsu training. For the first day we spent most of the day practicing Chakra Control. Naruto and I almost had Kunai Balancing down. Rasengan training was put on hold in case someone saw this, especially Kakashi. The same was said for Stealth. Since we had no idea where there was a good place to sneak around we just mucked around for a while before going to sleep. We kept to the training schedule for three days. On the night of the forth…

(Cue song Makubex from Getbackers OST 1)

I just told quite a funny joke and everyone was laughing. Everyone besides Inari. Eventually he slammed his hands down on the table.

"How... how can you be so relaxed?" He said in a small voice.

Naruto looked over to Inari. "What did you say?"

Inari got up and slammed his hands on the table. "All this stupid training is just a waste of time! Gatoh's got a whole army, they'll beat you down and they'll kill you!" Everyone was now looking at Inari. "These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything! No matter what you do! The strong always win and the weak always lose!"

"I guess we're gonna win then!" Naruto said with a grin.

"Why don't you be quiet! Just looking at you makes me sick! You don't know anything about this country, you're just butting in! Always laughing and playing around, you don't know what it's like to su..mph!" At this particular moment I placed my hand in front of his mouth. "Inari, would you come with me for a second?" Not giving him a choice I dragged him out of the house and plopped him down on the ground.

"What was that for?" he yelled. I looked him in the eye. "Can you truthfully say that you know anything about Naruto?" I asked gently. Inari hesitated before shaking his head. "The truth is that he's had it 100 times worse than you." I sat on the grass next to him. "He lost both his parents on the day he was born. In one way he doesn't know what you are going through since you lost your dad when you were old enough to remember such things. But you still have your mum, and your grandfather. Naruto had to live alone for 12 years. All alone." Inari's eyes widened. "And for reason's I can't go into, almost the whole village hates him. He's had to go through people charging him triple the normal price of something that's on special. He's had people attack him with blunt weapons trying to kill him." Inari started trembling. I saw this and smiled. "I'm not trying to scare you Inari. I just want you to see that there are people more unfortunate than you. Do you know of water country?" I asked. He shook his head. "That country was once home to many people who had what is called a bloodline limit. In the last war these people were used as special weapons to turn the tide in their favour. But after the war the leader became paranoid of them, thinking that they would rise up against him and created special squads of elite ninjas to eliminate them. People who are no different that other people; other than their special power, passed down within the family."

I looked at Inari. His eyes were distant, as if trying to visualise this. He then looked up at me and said, "Sorry Josh," I smiled at him. "No need to apologise. You didn't know. However I think you should say sorry to Naruto." I then got up and led Inari into the house again. Conversations silenced as we entered. I looked at Inari and nodded. He nodded back and looked at Naruto. "I'm sorry Naruto!" he said as he bowed. Naruto smiled as Inari raised his head. "Don't worry about it. We will defeat Gatou. I promise you," I smiled. "That we will Naruto. That we will."

(Cue song Underwater Ruins by Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy X OST: Disc 1)

The next day I went out for my run earlier than usual; for this was the day that Haku would be rummaging around for herbs. I reached the clearing and seeing no-one there I sat down for some meditation. Roughly twenty minutes later I felt someone reach out to me. I opened my eyes and spotted the girl. She looked surprised that I noticed her. I smiled. "Hello miss. What are you doing here so early?"

Haku looked at me out of the corner of her eyes. "I should ask you the same. You'll get a cold if you sleep here." I shook my head. "I wasn't sleeping. I was meditating. How do you think I felt you near me?"

"So, why are you out here?" she asked. I stood up and smirked. "I was waiting for you," She took a step back. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to ask how Zabuza was, and whether the Demon brothers gave him my message."

"In regards to your second question, yes. Zabuza and I were quite surprised. We thought that the message was a warning. Zabuza agrees to the proposition, but only if you beat him when he recovers," said Haku.

I blinked. "So I guess I just imagined myself kicking his ass five days ago." I said sarcastically. She shook her head. "He had a handicap. He has weight seals on his sword. He simply forgot to release them." I slapped my hand to my face. "I should have known. So, what's your name?" I asked. She smiled. "It's Haku," I extended a hand. "Nice to meet you. My names Josh Ryu Kitsune." She grasped my hand and we shook. "Zabuza also asks if he could keep his last name as a second name." I laughed. "He doesn't need to ask me that," I said. "So what does he think of me?"

Haku thought for a moment before answering. "To tell you the truth, he was like a little kid. He just can't keep still. After the battle he was in awe of you. I don't know about this Soul Calibur but it seems to be a great deal. But when Meizu and Gozu delivered the message he was ecstatic. He said, 'Not only will I be part of the clan that wields Soul Calibur but we will be free of hunter nin.' Meizu and Gozu seemed to think like him as well. They all seem on the verge of worshiping you." At this point I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. "What about you?" I asked. She looked at me. "Honestly I don't know. You did beat Zabuza, even though he had the weights on. And you managed to impress the Demon Bros. But you could be an enemy who is waiting for the right time to strike."

I nodded. "How bout this. If I betray you, you can kill me and I won't fight back. I promise and I never go back on my promises." She frowned. "You don't have to go that far. I'm just saying that this is all too good to be true." I sighed. "Well have you considered this? Do you think Zabuza would do this unless he was 100 percent sure that I could be trusted? I'm going to let you in on a little something." Here I unsheathed bookmark Soul Calibur would have rejected me if I wasn't trustworthy. It's literally the sword of good. If I was holding Soul Edge then your fears would be justified, for Soul Edge thrives on evil." She nodded and smiled at me. "Well that rests my fears." She looked around and said, "I should be getting back. Zabuza will be back on his feet in two days. We'll meet you at the bridge." She started to walk away but turned around. "I was going to tell you that I'm a boy but I think you deserve to know that I'm really a girl." She then turned back and walked out of the clearing.

Training was stepped up a bit more as I told Naruto of the little meeting. Kakashi seemed a little suspicious of our increased activity and tried getting information out of Naruto but he just said a few very vague things and walked away. Meanwhile Sasuke had reached the top of his tree that he had been practicing on and Sakura had had reached the level where she could walk up the tree slowly instead of running. Inari had begun conversing with us more. Naruto and I helped out with building the bridge as part of training and watching the old man. Then the day came. We all knew that Zabuza would be on his feet today so we all trooped off to the bridge. Before I left I used the Height boost jutsu and created three clones to take care of the thugs that would come and get Tsunami.

(Cue song TREMBLING WITH EAGERNESS by Michihiko Shichi from Dynasty Warriors 4 OST)

On the way to the bridge we came across the workers from the bridge all running the opposite direction. "Tazuna-san, go back to your home. It looks like there's trouble at the bridge, we'll take of it." Kakashi ordered the bridge builder.

Tazuna didn't need to be told twice. "Good luck." He said quickly before turning around and running back.

By the time we got to the bridge it was covered with mist. Puddles of water had collected on the concrete from last night's rain. The mist wasn't that thick this time around. I could see up to roughly 15 meters in front of me. Four shadows walked out of the mist and stood in front of us.

"Josh Ryu Kitsune. It is a pleasure to see you again. This time I will not go easy on you," said the tall one. The mist cleared slightly to reveal Zabuza, Haku, Meizu and Gozu. I stepped forward. "I'd love another fight with you Zabuza but we shouldn't be the only ones who get to play right?" I asked.

Zabuza grinned. "I agree." He turned to his comrades. "Who do you choose?" he asked. Haku spoke first. "I want to fight the Uchiha," she declared. "Damn! I wanted Emo-boy!" whined Gozu. Sasuke's eye twitched at the name. Meizu smacked his brother on the head. "Stop whining Gozu! As for me I'll choose Mask-man." Gozu pouted but said, "Well I guess then Blondie is mine."

I unsheathed my sword but then Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder. "You're not going to fight him," he said sternly. I was pissed. I shoved him out of the way. "You will not tell me who to and who not to fight, Hatake." I said as I flashed my eyes at him angrily. I then transformed the sword in my hands and gripped Soul Calibur in both hands. I released the gravity seal and felt all the weight fall off me. I then struck Soul Calibur into the ground and took out my iPod. "Zabuza, I'm sure you won't mind if we dance to music?" I asked. Zabuza cocked his head to the side in confusion. I didn't notice his confusion as I flipped through the songs I had until I found the perfect one. I pushed the play button and waited. The fast paced, Electronica music rang out of the earphones as if my iPod was wired to two six feet tall speakers and a 12 inch subwoofer on full blast. The song was called Supermoves by Overseer. I ripped Soul Calibur out of the ground and smiled darkly. "Let's play!"

The battle that followed was incredible. Since Zabuza had released the weights off his sword this fight was dead even. And throughout the whole battle I was happy. I loved fighting. I didn't like killing for pleasure. In fact I realised that I would not kill unless it was for a good reason. But the battle itself was something that was addicting, like a drug. I'm sure that Zabuza felt the same. We twisted and turned in an intricate dance. I slashed sideways only for him to block me. I flipped the sword and, using a reverse grip, blocked the slab of sharp carbon steel with the crystal sword. I jerked my blade to the side, causing a bright flash of sparks that forced Zabuza to close his eyes, but the bandaged man jumped away before I could follow-up.

"Man Zabuza, I am enjoying myself so much." I called to Zabuza. "Same here. I never thought that I would be trading blows with the wielder of Soul Calibur. But there are people who are stronger than us," Zabuza called back. The song then changed to Street Tennis by WATABE Chierul from Prince of Tennis Original Soundtrack 2. As me and Zabuza were catching our breath I watched the others battle. Sasuke was already trapped in Haku's 'Hijutsu: Demonic Ice Mirrors'. Kakashi was dodging Meizu's claws. And Naruto was doing well againsed Gozu as they were currently in a deadlock between sword and claws. As for Sakura, having no-one to fight with, settled with just watching Sasuke and yelling obscenities at Haku for hurting Sasuke. It was quite comical. I lifted Soul Calibur into the air and charged Zabuza once again.

Zabuza slid across the bridge after blocking a particularly hard kick from me with his sword. But he had no time to even breathe before I was on him again, raining slashes down upon him. "You're doing well," I said calmly, attempting a skull-crushing axe kick to Zabuza's head.

Zabuza winced from the intense vibrations caused by him blocking the aforementioned kick. He flipped back, panting slightly. "Heh, not bad. How bout we take this to ninjutsu eh?" he said. I grinned. "That's not a bad idea Zabuza," I said as the music changed again. This time it was Red Fraction by MELL.

'If my fire element is as crazy as I think it is, then I need to hold back majorly with this one' I thought as I called out "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Zabuza only just dodged the massive, bright fireball which blew out a good chunk of the bridge and melted everything else within a ten foot radius into molten rock.

'Oh crap! And that was only at quarter strength! Tazuna's going to have a fit when he sees this,' I thought.

Zabuza countered by flashing through handseals and calling out, "Suiton: Great Waterfall no Jutsu!" a large ball of water gathered above his head, then a spiralling torrent rush out towards me. I quickly rushed through my own set of handseals and called out, "Doton: Imperial Cover no Jutsu!" A very thick, small wall of concrete rose up to meet the blast of water. The two jutsu collided with extreme force, well, at least Zabuza's did. When it was over the wall was still standing but had huge chunks blown off it. I jumped on top of the wall and said, "Fuuton: Daitoppa!" A huge wind blast slammed into Zabuza and he was launched into a pile of supply wood for the bridge.

"You alright Zabuza?" I called as he got to his feet and wobbled slightly. He raised his hand shakily and said "I'll be fine," before he toppled onto his back. I walked over to him. He laughed as I pulled him into a sitting position. "Well we may be equal in swordplay but you are more versatile in Ninjutsu. I only know Suiton jutsus." I smiled. "Well I'll just have to remedy that when we get home." The older man sighed. "Well I guess that I'm now part of the Kitsune clan then," he said. "Yep. You just have to resite the clan vow and you'll be in the clan." I said cheerfully. And who wouldn't be? Zabuza looked confused. "What clan oath?" he asked. I shook my head. "I'll tell you when we get to our house in Konoha. Let's just watch the others." Zabuza nodded and we turned our attention to the others while listening to the song.

-Third Person View of Haku and Sasuke-

Sasuke panted heavily and glared weakly at his foe. He could feel every one of the two dozen needles sticking out of his body, and he didn't like it at all. He had managed to keep Haku from piercing any joints or vital areas, but he was still losing a lot of blood, and every movement he made caused hot streaks of pain to lance through every wound.

'D-damnit! I...I can't keep up with him...Even with the Sharingan, I can't keep up!!' Sasuke mentally raged.

He had finally unlocked the Sharingan; something he had been trying to do for years, but it still wasn't enough.

Haku looked at the Uchiha with slight pity. 'He's trying his best, but he is still no match for me at all.' she readied for more senbon needles. 'I don't want to do this...'

Sasuke coughed up a bit of blood and glared at the false hunter. "You...How are you so powerful?! I'm an Uchiha, even with your bloodline limit, you should be nothing compared to me!" his grip on his kunai tightened.

"Please, stand down. Put aside your ego long enough to accept that you are outclassed. I don't want to kill you, but if that's what it takes, I will silence my heart and destroy you."

Sasuke's glare intensified, his one-tomoe and two-tomoe Sharingan spinning madly, reflecting his anger.

"Shut up! I will never give in to the likes of you, or anyone else! I will defeat you and prove that I am better!" he charged at the mirror Haku was in.

Said nuke-nin sighed and took careful aim at the enraged boy that was rushing her. "So be it." she let three senbon fly.

Sasuke suddenly felt three sharp pricks in his neck, then felt no more as he went down like a sack of bricks.

Haku sighed once again and deactivated her ice mirrors. She walked over to Sasuke and kicked him in the ribs. "Stubborn bastard," she huffed.

She heard clapping and looked over to see Josh and Zabuza applauding her. She smiled and walked over to sit beside them.

-Normal POV-

"Nice one Haku! A little boring," I said. Zabuza nodded. "Yeah, where was all the action?" he asked. Haku rolled her eyes. "Boys," she sighed as she sat beside Zabuza. There was suddenly a shriek.

(Cue song Fooling Mode by Toshiro Masuda from Naruto Original Soundtrack II)

"I'd say that Sakura has realised that Sasuke got defeated and thinks that you killed him," I said to Haku calmly. "She will probably then rush over intending to dish out some revenge." True to my predictions Sakura ran out from where Sasuke was, screaming, "YOU KILLED SASUKE-KUN!!! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!!! HOW DARE YOU!!! HOW DAR…" She then slumped to the ground with three senbon sticking out of her neck. Haku then sat back down and we all sighed. "Thanks Haku," I said as we turned our attention to the last two battles only to see that they were over. Both Meizu and Gozu's claws were smashed to pieces. "YOU BROKE OUR FAVORITE CLAWS!" said Meizu. "DON'T YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND WEAPON'S SUCH AS THESE!" said Gozu holding up two destroyed claws.

"Don't you two a sealing scroll full of those?" called Zabuza sweat dropping. "Yeah, but number 88 was our favourite, it was our lucky claws whenever it was a really important mission," said both brothers at the same time crying anime style. Naruto sweat dropped as he sheathed his sword.

"Well, I guess that's that." I said before I saw Kakashi powering up a Chidori and running towards Meizu. 'Crap!' Kakashi pulled his hand back and thrusted forward aiming for Meizu's heart. Kakashi made contact, but it wasn't Meizu.

"Phew! Just in time!" I said as I stood in front of Kakashi, blocking his Chidori with Soul Calibur.

"Josh what are you doing?!" said Kakashi surprise. I looked at him in the eye. "No-one will try to hurt or kill anyone under the protection of the Kitsune clan. _My_ clan!" I said, stressing the last part. I then felt Soul Calibur vibrate and the sword then morphed into something I did not expect.

A cellphone.

Wondering what this was all about I pressed the call button on the blue crystallised mobile and put the earpiece to my ear. "Hello?" I said, wondering what this was about.

"_Hello Josh, it's me, Sophie,"_ said the female on the other end.

"Ah, Sophie! How are you doing? I haven't heard from you for a while." I said.

"_I know. I've been busy. You know, being a goddess and all. I'm just calling to give you a new objective. I need you to purify evil souls for me. Only the most corrupted souls. I'll tell you when you are near one. Right now I need you to purify the soul of Gatou. He's very close."_

"Ok, no prob. But how do I do so?" I asked. Sending a soul isn't something I usually do. More like never.

"_Just say 'Soul Serenity' and Soul Calibur will have an extension of light. You then slam down the sword onto the target. Like __Siegfried's Critical Finish in Soul Calibur 4. The __purified__ soul will disperse into light blue lights that will ascend into the sky."_

"Ok, so use it on Gatou?"

"_Yes,"_

"Ok then. Anything else?"

"_Not that I can think of, no. So I'll ring you when another target gets close,"_

"Alright. See ya!" I finished up and closed the phone which then morphed back into the sword. I turned to my new clan members. "I have a new mission. Naruto, Zabuza, Haku, Meizu, Gozu. I will tell you everything later, I promise. Kakashi, I want you to say nothing of this to anyone ok? The Hokage I don't mind but everyone else, no. I want your word." Kakashi looked really confused at the moment so he just dumbly nodded his head. He looked like he wanted to say something but a seedy looking, short man with his arm in a cast, appeared at the end of the bridge, followed by a few hundred thugs armed with all manner of weapons and farming equipment.

"Well, well, so this is how it turned out? You look more like a kitten than a demon right now Zabuza! I must say I'm disappointed. Oh, look, your little lap bitch survived as well, now I can get revenge for my arm." The man announced, looking over the scene in front of him. I stood in front of my friends and looked him squarely in the eye. "No one insults my friends and gets away from me unharmed!" I growled. Gatou took a step back after meeting my eyes. I started walking towards him in a slow, menacing way. Gatou finally panicked. "What are you idiot's waiting for!? Take care of them!" Gatou yelled to the crowd of thugs as he hobbled his way through to get back to the boat he had arrived in.

'It's time I tried out my summons,' I thought as I thought of the right one. I slammed Soul Calibur into the ground and placed my hands over my chest as if I was holding something against me. I focused chakra in myself and cried out.

(Cue Song "Dark Chii Theme" by K-taro Takanami from Chobits)

"I SUMMON SYLPHEED!!!"

-Third Person POV-

The focused energy exploded out of him like a blue wave that washed through everyone. As the chakra pulsed through everyone the first thought that ran though Zabuza, Haku, the demon brothers, Naruto and Kakashi was 'Damn!' As the shockwave dissipated everyone turned to look at Josh, and gasped. Tendrils of grey energy were sprouting out of his back, weaving together to from huge wings made out of the glowing energy. Then, all of a sudden it seemed as if someone just smashed the energy and the energy flew apart in the form of shattered glass. In their place were giant, stormy grey angel wings. Josh pulled Soul Calibur from the ground and, with a beat of the large and powerful looking wings, lifted off the ground. He hovered ten feet off the ground and suddenly, multiple things that looked like small bullets made out of air, shot out of each feather tip and each homed in to a thug. Within two seconds most of the force collapsed with a small hole in their chest. Josh then shot over the heads of those unharmed by the 'Air Bullets' and stopped in front of Gatou, blocking the way to his boat. The snivelling man looked in horror at the angelic being in front of him. Josh raised the heavenly sword above his head and said, "Soul Serenity" A beam of light encased the crystal weapon so now it looked like he was holding a huge lance of white light with a blue glow. Josh looked at Gatou, cowering at his feet and smiled. "Let your soul find peace as you transcend into history." He then brought the sword down the middle, as if cleaving the man in half. Soul Calibur struck the ground and small crops of the same crystal as the sword sprouted around the two. Gatou then started dissolving into small, light blue lights that slowly rose into the heavens. When all of the lights had disappeared the crystals disintegrated into the air.

Josh turned to the rest of the thugs left over from the battle and said, "Those of you left behind. Go to your families, your children and wives, for they are calling for you to return to them. Take up honest jobs and never go into this line of work again." They did just that as they scrambled away. When they were long gone Josh landed on the bridge and the wings slowly disappeared in an upward glass crumbling way.

-My POV-

I stood there, panting slightly. I felt happy at my decision. I looked at my friends and chuckled at the looks on their faces. Naruto looked at me in a mixture of awe and happiness. The Demon Brothers had their eyes opened fully. Haku was very surprised and also looked like she was on the verge of worshiping me. But it was Zabuza and Kakashi that were the funniest. Both were bug eyed and their mouths looked like caves. I then looked behind then to see a mass of people, including Inari and Tazuna that had the same expression. I sighed.

'This is going to take a while.'


	9. Chapter 9: Return to Konoha

**Chapter 9: Return to Konoha**

(Cue Song Heart of the Village by Dale North from Project Majestic Mix: A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu)

Five days had passed since the battle on the bridge. After the battle I unsealed all the food I bought and we had ourselves a nice dinner. Sasuke and Sakura were recovering. Kakashi was watching over them. And Naruto, Zabuza, Haku, the Demon Bros and I helped fix and finish the bridge with Tazuna. At first I was asked a lot of questions from the town's people. Like "What were those wings?" or "What was that sword you used?" I managed to sum it up in four words. "It's a ninja thing." The populace accepted this and so I and my friends were treated like heroes. They even gave me a nickname. "The Angel Warrior" I thought it was a cool name.

The first thing I did was to get some casual clothes for Zabuza and his group. They complained at first, well the men did, but I told them that they looked like nukenin. They ended up getting some but only cause I was buying. Zabuza settled with jeans and a white shirt while keeping his zori sandals. Meizu and Gozu went with jeans as well but Meizu went with a green t-shirt, while Gozu went with an aqua t-shirt. The two looked quite handsome without the heavy, baggy, dark clothing and masks. But Haku went for an ice blue t-shirt and skirt which went down to her knees. I decided to get out of the clothes that I was wearing and chose a white pair of three quarter length pants and a black shirt which also had two angel wing traces on the back. Naruto came out of the store wearing black three quarter length pants and an orange shirt. I guess that even though he was forced to buy clothes that would one day get him killed, he still liked the colour.

The rest of the time we spent there was good. As we worked with Tazuna I learned lots of things about my new clan members. By the time the bridge was finished we acted as if we had been friends for life. Zabuza, even though he had killed many people, was a real softie. The twins were really friendly when they weren't using the tough act. And that Haku was actually a lesbian. Now that threw me for a loop. For most of the time Zabuza sealed his sword into a scroll for easy carrying unless on a mission.

Eventually the day came for us to leave. Saying our goodbyes was emotional for some like Naruto and Inari as they bawled silently. I shook Tazuna's hand. "We'll see you later guys," I said as we started walking over the bridge to the mainland. The trip was easy going with Naruto and Sasuke squabbling every now and then. It all started when Naruto was recounting his victory against Gozu when Sasuke butted in.

"Shut up weakling," he said as he was pissed that he got defeated.

"What'd you say?" Naruto said.

"I said you're a weakling," Sasuke repeated.

"I know you are but what am I?" Naruto countered, grinning.

"You're a dobe!" said Sasuke heatedly.

"I know you are but what am I?"

"You're an idiot!"

"I know you are but what am I?" The two then started saying the same thing.

"I know you are but what am I? I know you are but what am I?! I know you are but what am I?!! I know you are but what am I?!!! I know you are but what am I?!!!!" Naruto ended the match by saying "Infinity!" after his sixth consecutive "I know you are but what am I?" Sasuke developed a twitch above his right eye but didn't say anything back.

Those two weren't the only ones to argue. Kakashi got into a heated argument with Zabuza who called him an "Old Man" due to his silver hair. Kakashi countered with "Eyebrowless freak!" The rest of the verbal match went like this.

"One eyed hypocrite!"

"Cow lick haired idiot!" After this it got quite personal. Nevertheless we enjoyed the entertaining verbal bouts. Zabuza won by the way. He smirked all the way back to Konoha with Kakashi sniffing every now and then.

As we walked through the gates Izumo and Kotetsu waved us in. We trooped to the Hokage's office straight away to report on the mission and to talk about my new clan members.

The Hokage was surprised by all this but stated that I didn't break any laws by accepting them into my clan. He then asked if they wanted to be instated as ninja of the Leaf Village. They all nodded and the Hokage said that he would send word on a time for them to be tested; to judge whether they would be Chunnin or Jounin. I then remembered something to ask to the Hokage.

"Sir, I would like to add an alias to my ninja profile please. The people of Wave gave me the nickname 'The Angel Warrior' and I would like to be recognised as this in the future, please." Sarutobi smiled. "Very well, with these facts I am obliged to list 'The Angel Warrior' as one of your aliases in your ninja profile. You may leave now." The Hokage said as he went to pull out my file. We then walked back to the Namikaze Compound and showed Zabuza and the rest around the complex.

"Man! What a place!" exclaimed Zabuza. Meizu nodded. "You guys have a great crib!" he agreed. Gozu and Haku just looked at the place opened mouthed. Naruto and I then showed them to their new rooms. After 30 minutes to let them settle down we met up in the lounge room and I retold my story. They took it better than I thought. Zabuza looked a little shocked but nodded. "It all fits into place now. There's no way that someone could have just found Soul Calibur lying on the ground." Meizu and Gozu nodded. Haku looked at me and asked, "So you are dead in your own world?" I nodded. "Yeah. Not how I pictured myself dying but I guess when your time comes then you can't do much about it. At least I died saving people. I have no regrets."

"Well what now?" asked Zabuza. I smiled. "Now is the ceremony for you to join into my clan. I need you to recite my clan code and then I will brand you on the back of your hands ok?" I asked. They didn't have any problems with this so I started with the code.

"I pledge myself, to the Kitsune Clan. We shall fight against those that do harm to people that we care for, wether they be friends, family, partners, or those we have pledged to protect."

Zabuza was the first to recite the code. After he had finished he extended his hand. I drew Soul Calibur and touched the tip to the back of his hand. Instantly a simplified drawing of a fox's head with wings on either side showed up on his hand. The black markings pulsed with blue energy once before a new mark appeared above the fox's head. It was the kanji word for Cleaver.

"The main marking is my clan's emblem. The mark above that is your call sign. An alias, if you will." Zabuza nodded to say that he understood. The others all resited the code and received the clan's mark as well as their new nickname. Haku had the kanji for 'Ice Maiden', Meizu got 'Ying' and Gozu got 'Yang'. After the ceremony was finished I decided that we needed a maid to do the cleaning and cooking.

"Let's face it. The only female in this house is now Haku. The rest of us are all males and I'll be honest. I'm not very tidy myself. What about you guys?" I asked. All the guys looked sheepish. Haku smirked. "I always have to clean up after these guys." I sighed. "Well that's that. I'm going to put an ad in the local paper. With a house this size I think that we might need two maids but I'm going to see how one goes. If that's all we need then fine. After that we are going clothes shopping. We need you guys, and girl, to get yourselves a nice full wardrobe. Naruto, you're in on this as well. I also need to get some new clothes. Then we'll swing by Higurashi's weapons store to get you out fitted with anything you need. This is all on me by the way but it will be up to you to pay for your own things afterwards, ok?" I asked. They nodded. I then went and got a piece of paper and pen and wrote the ad down.

"Looking for a maid. Needs to be good at cleaning and cooking. No age bracket. Ring 62503090 between 6:00pm and 8:00pm to make an appointment for an interview."

(Cue Song Three Little Birds by Sean Paul and Ziggy Marley from Shark Tale - Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Pleased with what I had written we trooped off to the 'Leaf Journal' to put the ad in. Their office wasn't busy at that moment so we went straight on ahead. The receptionist smiled at me. "What can I do for you today?" she asked. I fumbled in my pocket and pulled out the ad. I handed the piece of paper to her and said, "I need this job offer in the paper." "For how many days?" she asked. I thought about it for a moment before saying, "Three days please." She smiled. "The ad will be in tomorrow's paper. That comes to 3000 ryo please," I gave her three 1000 ryo bills. "Thank you," she said, smiling again.

We then walked to the clothes store where I bought Naruto's white leather coat from. We must've been there for 2 hours. I chose a few black t-shirts and a few pairs of white ¾ length pants. I also got a couple of shorts in the same colour. I found a white hoddie that would be great for casual wear. After that it was just some socks and boxers. In one corner of the store there were a few shoes on sale. Skimming my eyes over them I found a pair of black sneakers. I picked them up and walked around to see what else I could find. I spotted a hat that I liked. It was a simple white cap with nothing on it. 'Perfect for putting my clan symbol on the front,' I thought. I decided that this was enough casual ware for the moment, so I sat down to wait for the others.

Meizu was the first out after me. His hands were full of light greens and blacks. Placed on top was a dark green beanie. It turned out that he had chosen a few black cargos and several shirts of different styles, all in light green. Tucked under one arm was a pair of green sneakers. Zabuza was next out. He had chosen a few grey cargos and several styles of shirts, some in white, some in black. One t-shirt had a black tribal print on a grey background. He also opted for a pair of sneakers that were black. Haku had followed Zabuza out. She chose a few more ice blue dresses in different styles but she also chose a few yellow shirts and light green, knee length skirts. A few more minuets and out came Gozu. It looked like he opted to go for jeans instead of cargos. He had a few light coloured shirts, mostly reds and blues, and had a pair of grey shoes. And last was Naruto. He chose to wear bright yellows, oranges and blues for both shirts and pants. A red cap with the Konoha symbol on the front in white was placed on his head.

I looked around to make sure that everyone was here. I then paid for the purchases and we exited the shop. I turned around to my friends. "Now that we have taken care of casual, now we'll get us some formal wear." I said and walked to another shop. This one was responsible for formal clothes such as kimonos, yukatas, formal dresses, hakamas and more. After half an hour of thinking about the design of our yukatas we put the order in and I paid up. We then visited Higurashi's for stocking up. The twins looked around where the cat claws were while Zabuza talked with Tenchu about making some adjustments to his sword. Haku was looking at all the different types of sebon needles and Naruto was stocking up on his kunais. Since I didn't need to buy anything yet I decided to take a walk. Making sure that Naruto knew where I was going and handing him my wallet for the purchases (also reminding him to not go on a massive shopping spree) I walked out of the store and strolled along the small river that runs through the town. As I was looking at the water I was not looking where I was going and so I bumped into someone. The person gave a small cry as they crashed to the ground. I spun around ready to start apologising but stopped short as I saw the sight before me.

(Cue Song Crystal Note by Scudelia Electro from King of Bandits Jing: OST)

A beautiful girl with long bright orange hair was on the ground in front of me. She looked to be 16 years old. Parcels were scattered around her. She looked up at me and I saw her bright orange coloured eyes. 'She's cute…' I thought. I then realised that I was staring at her and shook myself mentally. I extended my hand to her. "I'm very sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going." I said. She smiled shyly as she grasped my hand. "That's alright. I was spacing out as well," she said in a soft voice. I helped her up and we started picking up her things. Once finished I handed her things back to her. "Thank you," she said. "No problem," I said, smiling kindly. "What's you name?" She looked down at the ground and smiled softly. "Um… my name's Tatsuta," she said shyly. "Tatsuta, that's a nice name," I said thinking out loud. By this time the sun was setting, washing Konoha with a rustic colour. The light was shining off her hair, deepening the orange colour. I had my breath taken away. She was quite beautiful and her hair enhanced her round face. Her voice then broke me out of my musings. "Um… what's your name?" she asked. I slapped my head. 'Idiot!' I looked back at her and smiled. "My names Josh," I said gently. Tatsuta smiled at me. "Well it was nice meeting you Josh, but I have to be going now. I hope we meet in the future," she said. "Yeah," was all I could say as she walked away. I stood there for a few minutes before walking back to the store, all the while thinking about the orange haired girl named after autumn.

(Cue Song Junsuisa na Iyashite Iku from Da Capo TV Original Soundtrack)

When I arrived back at Higurashi's, everyone was waiting for me. Naruto slapped his hand on my back. "Hey Aniki, we were just about to leave you," he said as he gave me back my wallet. I smiled. "Well I'm here now. You all finished?" I asked. Meizu and Gozu brandished their new cat claws. Unlike their old ones, which were quite ordinary looking with no special markings other than a serrated edge, these were made of a black metal called Obsidian. The claws were slightly longer and without a serrated edge. The ends of the claws were tipped in some sort of silver coloured metal, giving them the appearance of real cat claws.

Looking at Haku she held up some sort of disk launcher. I looked closer at it and recognised it as a Blaster-Edge. Pretty much what it does is shoots a serrated disk at the target, the disk slices into it and then returns to the launcher. It seemed like you had to pump chakra into the weapon so the disk could return to you. Otherwise it would be like using a slightly oversized shrunken. The weapon also seemed to be designed for upgrades. The reason I recognised the weapon is that Rinoa from Final Fantasy VIII used this weapon.

Zabuza's zanbato was getting remodelled and Naruto just seemed to get some more kunai so we walked to Ichiraku's for dinner. When we all walked in Ayame and Teuchi looked happy that we were still around. As we ate Ayame was looking at Gozu in a slightly lustful way. Gozu was oblivious to this though for he was digging into his ramen. It seemed that it was the first time he had ramen. The same was for Zabuza, Meizu and Haku as they all were slurping down the noodles.

After eating we said goodbye and received a stuttered reply from Ayame that was directed at Gozu. We walked home and everyone pretty much went to bed after that. I stayed up to continue my research into Naruto's seal. I worked well into the night. Around three in the morning I found the missing piece that I needed. I decided to wait for morning and so I just packed up and went for a quick shower. I then hopped into bed and didn't wake until much later.

I awoke to whiteness. I got up and saw Sophie smiling at me. I smiled back. "Hi, Sophie,"

"Hello Josh. I see that you are going to extract the piece of Soul Edge from Kyuubi tomorrow," she stated. I nodded. "Do you have a way of sealing it?" she asked. I shook my head. She smiled again. "The technique for this job is called 'Soul Sealing'. The seal is stronger than Shiki Fuujin and it uses energy from Soul Calibur. All you need to do is touch Soul Calibur to the piece of Soul Edge and say 'Soul Sealing'. You need not worry about sending the piece to me for I will come down and get them myself after you have all the pieces. Now I'll let you get on with sleeping."


	10. Spec Chapter 1: Infiltrating Akagahara

**Soul of Fire**

**Special Chapter: Infiltrating Akagahara (Crimson Four-Leaf Clover Mission)**

I awoke to Naruto's loud yelling from his room. I quickly snatched up Soul Calibur and dashed out of the room, across the hallway and into the master bedroom. What I saw, I didn't expect.

Naruto looked like he had just rolled off the bed and onto the hard floor. Next to him was Konohamaru, arms folded and looking quite serious.

"Konohamaru? Why are you here?" I asked, secretly wondering why I was the only one who woke up to Naruto's yelp.

"I came here to tell you that you and Naruto-nii-chan have been appointed the leaders of the Konohamaru Corps," said the kid. Naruto rubbed his eye, still sleepy.

"Huh? What?"

'I'm part of the Konohamaru Corps?' I thought as the kid continued to talk, saying something about a red four-leaf clover. Wait a minute… a red four-leaf clover?

'Ah, I remember this episode,' I thought. I then turned to Konohamaru while scratching my white hair. "Hey kid, how bout you let us get cleaned up and then we'll talk missions." He thought about it. 'What's there to think about? We'll do it even without your consent.' I grumbled in my head.

*********

(Cue song Kaname no Kitchen by Toshihiko Sahashi from Fullmetal Panic Original Sound Track 1)

Twenty minutes later we had showered and had gotten dressed. We were now sitting in the living room. I was sipping a cup of coffee, Naruto was slurping down his morning Ramen and Konohamaru was drinking some apple juice I picked up yesterday.

"So what's this Konohamaru Corps?" asked Naruto as soon as he finished his food.

"A newly established renovation corps of Konohagakure no Sato (Hidden Village in the Leaves)."

"Let me guess. You only have yourself in this group plus us two now, right?" I asked, knowing full damn well that was the case.

"Yeah, you two are the Leaders and I'm the lieutenant general," admitted the small kid.

"By the way, how did you find us here?" I asked, curious as to how he knew where to find us, even though I had a feeling.

"I asked Jii-chan where you two were staying," was the answer I was somewhat expecting.

"I see. Konohamaru, it is vital that you do not tell anyone where we are living, ok?" I said, completely serious. He noticed the tone in my voice and started to look very nervous.

"I can understand Sarutobi telling you as he thinks you're trustworthy, and I don't mind that. But if you have to tell any friends in the near future, either myself, or Naruto, must clear them first. This does not mean that you bring them here to be cleared. Just come by the house yourself and if we're not here, then just leave a letter in the post box."

Konohamaru nodded. "Jii-chan said for me not to tell anyone about you guys living here." I sighed. 'If Sarutobi said that, then Konohamaru will abide by it.'

"So, about this mission?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, an important but dangerous mission awaits us," he stressed.

"That's right. You said something about the crimson four-leaf clover. Why are you looking for something like that?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, well…" Konohamaru then started to explain.

(Cue song Tabi no Tochuu by Kajiura Yuki from Erementar Gerad OST 1)

"There's this girl in the academy that has caught my attention. Her name is Yoshino Kaede. She's very cute, has a good personality, and is a charming girl. But…" It was here that he told us what he overheard from the three girls. It seemed that Kaede was moving to another town in the Fire Country. One of her friends explained the significance of the crimson four-leaf clover; about how, if you acquired one, your wish would be granted.

By the end of this story, the kid was bawling silently. I placed my hand on his shoulder. "You like this girl?" asked Naruto as I comforted the kid to stop crying.

Now two things happened. The first was Konohamaru turning a bright shade of red. The second was my mouth falling open. 'How is it that he recognised Konohamaru's feelings for this girl, but can't seem to notice Hinata's feelings?' I thought in wonder before closing my mouth.

"So you want to grant that girl's wish?" asked Naruto. The kid nodded. He then got on his hands and knees. "You guys are the only ones who can help me out with something like this! Please!" he pleaded.

I sighed. "Get up Konohamaru, of course we'll help you out. Besides, this clover resides in the middle of Akagahara, the old Chunnin test site. This will be a good test to see how far we've come." I then turned to Naruto. "Right Otouto?" Naruto grinned that foxy grin of his. "Believe It!"

Konohamaru looked very relieved at this. We then bolted upstairs to prepare. I grabbed Soul Calibur and changed it into a replica of Cloud's Buster Sword. I removed the coat and placed the sword on my back, using chakra to keep it in place. I then walked out to see that Naruto had taken his coat off too. We were now both clad in black muscle shirts with black cargo pants and black, steal capped combat boots.

"Ready for some action?" I asked, grinning.

"Hell yeah!" replied Naruto.

*********

(Cue song Yukai na Itazura by Hamaguchi Shirou from Ah! My Goddess TV OST 2)

Meanwhile, at the Team 7 meeting bridge, Sasuke and Sakura were already waiting for their sensei, Kakashi, as well as Naruto and Josh.

Sasuke was leaning on the railing of the bridge while Sakura was standing in the middle, looking a bit miffed.

"Man, Kakashi-sensei's late again," stated Sakura.

"Yeah," was the only reaction that came out of Sasuke.

Sakura seemed to notice that Naruto and Josh weren't around either and started to fantasise about her and Sasuke, again.

"U-um," stuttered Sakura with a blush on her cheeks. "Um, Sasuke-kun…?"

The brooder opened his eyes and mouth to say something to the girl, but at that moment they both heard a few people running down the path. They looked in the direction of the noise and saw Josh, Naruto, and some kid running toward them.

"Morning guys!" called Naruto.

As the group of three caught up, Josh started to explain something.

"We have a special mission in Akagahara so we can't stick around."

"Yeah, we'll try to finish up before Kakashi-sensei comes back, so take care!" supplied Naruto.

"Take care!" said the kid. The three then took off down the road and soon they were gone.

"A special mission?" wondered Sakura out loud.

"Akagahara? Are they trying to go in alone?" wondered Sasuke as well.

"But that place is the forbidden danger area," finished off Sakura.

*********

(Cue song WRO March by Masashi Hamauzu from DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII- Original Soundtrack -DISC 1-)

We had arrived at the fence barring the way to Akagahara. In front of us was a sign attached to the fence.

'Forbidden. All ninja are prohibited to enter. Signed, Hokage.'

"Hmm, I wonder which Hokage?" I thought to myself.

"So this is Akagahara," smiled Naruto before we jumped up on top of the barbed fence.

From there we could see almost the entire field. The place was basically a normal looking forest. In the middle was a green field with a mound of high rock propped up at the back of the field. At the base was a circle of what looked like crimson red grass.

"There it is!" said Konohamaru. "If we go there, we should find the crimson four-leaf clover."

"That seems easy," said Naruto confidently.

"Don't be so sure Naruto. This place is forbidden for a reason. There will be extensive traps in here. You and I will be able to slip past the traps easily from out training, but I'm worried about Konohamaru. Here's what I think we should do. I'll summon Sylpheed and carry Konohamaru over there. He doesn't have much time to find one so time is of the essence. I'll then fly back here and we'll start for the field, while Konohamaru starts looking for the clover he needs. Sound good?" I asked. I got nods from both.

"Ok," I said and started concentrating. When I first summoned, I remembered like I was plucking a string of energy inside me. I felt for the right one and plucked it sharply. Immediately I felt the magic working.

The effects weren't as impressive as before but I quickly felt the white and grey wings attach themselves to my back. I looked over to Naruto and the kid. There were both in awe, Konohamaru more so then Naruto. I reached out with my hand to Konohamaru and he took it. I then beat my powerful wings and we lifted off the fence. Soon we were soaring quickly over the treetops. About 5 minutes later we arrived at the field. After dropped off the kid, I made a few handseals and then placed my hand on the ground, releasing the chakra.

"Seal beacon," I said. A small seal spread out from my hand and rose up a few inches from the ground. A small point of light rose up from the seal and hovered there. I then repeated the same process with slightly different handseals and placed my left hand on top of my right. A different seal glowed on my hand for a moment, before disappearing, leaving the black trace behind. I then waved to Konohamaru and sped back through the air to where Naruto was waiting. I landed on the fence and dismissed my wings.

"You ready?" I asked him.

"Yeah!" he replied back. I smiled and then sent chakra into the new seal I made on my right hand. The seal flashed once before what looked like the minute hand from a clock made out of light blue light rose out of the seal and pointed straight ahead.

"What's that for?" asked Naruto.

"I placed a seal beacon where I dropped off Konohamaru. This seal on my hand points to the location of the first beacon I placed, so we'll never get lost." I explained.

"Cool," said Naruto, and with that, we made our way into Akagahara.

*********

Back with the rest of Team 7 an hour later, Kakashi had just arrived at the bridge.

"Sorry, sorry. An old lady asked me for directions as I was coming here…" he would of said more but Sakura cut him off with a yell of "Liar!"

"Where's Naruto and Josh?" asked the lazy teacher.

"They mentioned something about a special mission," explained Sakura.

"A special mission? I didn't hear anything about one," wondered Kakashi.

"We don't know if it's true or not, but they said that they were going to Akagahara," finished Sasuke.

"Akagahara? Is that so? If that's true, Naruto and Josh are going to die, for sure."

Sakura gasped.

*********

We were now roughly three quarters through the forest. It had taken one hour so far and we had yet to set off any traps.

The both of us were highly skilled in stealth and trap detection from sneaking into the Hyuuga compound for two months. So far the traps were at chuunin level and so we were able to sneak past easily.

Just then we reached the green field. However the traps didn't end until we reached the crimson clovers. Konohamaru was working on finding the clover he needed, but it seemed that it still eluded him. At the middle was a small statue of Buddha.

We quickly joined Konohamaru in the search, but no luck.

But 30 minutes into the search, Konohamaru found one underneath the statue. "I found it!" yelled the kid. We came running over to find him reaching in and straining hard to grab it.

"I can't reach it!" yelled Konohamaru in despair.

"Okay," said Naruto and started to move the statue. I gave him a hand and we pushed hard.

"I got it!" yelled Konohamaru in triumph.

"You did it," congratulated Naruto.

CRASH!

We looked over to see that the statue had collapsed on its side.

"Whoops," I said, grinning in an embarrassed way.

Then all of a sudden, things started rising out of the ground. They looked like marionettes fuelled with chakra, enabling them to move.

(Cue song Face It! by Yoko Shimomura from Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete -Disc 7 ~ Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories-)

I turned to the kid. "Quick, give me the clover; I'll seal it so it won't get damaged!" I called urgently. He complied and in less then five seconds the clover was sealed and the scroll in my ninja pouch. By this time we were completely surrounded.

*********

Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura were at the border of Akagahara, looking confused.

"This sure brings back memories. I took the Chuunin Exam here," said Kakashi. "But there's no sign of anyone entering here. The traps haven't been set off." The teacher turned to his two students. "Are you sure Josh and Naruto said that they came here?"

"Yeah, I'm quite sure," confirmed Sakura with a nod from Sasuke.

"Well that's weird," said Kakashi. He took out a pair of binoculars and scanned the area. "Ah, found them. This isn't good. Everyone of the marionette ninja squad has been activated. But I guess it'll be good training for all of you."

He then turned to the two kids. "I will give you your mission! Go rescue Josh, Naruto and Konohamaru!"

"What?" asked Sakura, looking very nervous. Sasuke wasn't the same.

"Akagahara, eh? This is good training for the Chuunin Exam."

"Sasuke-kun…" slumped Sakura.

"Then go," prodded Kakashi.

*********

I drew my crystal sword and turned to Naruto.

"Bro, you take Konohamaru and get him a safe distance. I'll hold them off until you get back."

Naruto gave me the thumbs up, gathered Konohamaru in his arms and jumped off. A few of the chakra puppets started to move after them but I Shunshined in front of them and beheaded them instantly.

(Cue song Theme of CRISIS CORE "Chaotic Battlefield" by Takeharu Ishimoto from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack)

"You're mine!" I said and jumped into the fray. I released my seal and started destroying them easily. I got into a sword lock with one and pushed all my strength into overcoming it. I then quickly let off the pressure and gave the thing a roundhouse kick to the head. I moved onto the next batch and focused energy into Soul Calibur. When the next one came within range I sliced it down the middle. When the sword hit the ground I released the energy inside and saw five lines of energy shoot out of the sword, skim across the ground and hit five puppets. The energy shot up at contact and pulverised their targets.

I smirked and turned to the next batch. This time I focused my elemental chakra into my sword and jumped high into the air. I whirled the sword around until it looked like a spinning blue disk. I then released the energy and blue fireballs shot out of the spinning sword. Each one connected with a puppet. Each one was engulfed in blue flames. After roughly 20 fireballs I stopped spinning the sword and landed on the ground. I looked around and grinned. "Half finished."

I then spotted a rather large group and again jumped into the air. I took a deep breath and placed my right thumb and pointer finger to my mouth. I then breathed out and a bright blue flame exited my mouth and consumed the small mass of puppets. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

The final group was a large one. Roughly 50 of the buggers were clustered together. Charging the group would not be wise, even with my enhanced speed. I placed Soul Calibur onto my back and got into a Kamehameha stance. I didn't put much energy into the attack, already knowing how destructive the move was.

"Ka, me, ha, me, HA!"

The beam shot out of my hands and headed for the group. As soon as it came in contact the beam exploded, sending wooden limbs and heads flying everywhere.

A silence fell on the battlefield, save for the birds chirping in the distance. I looked over and saw Naruto running over to me. Konohamaru was close behind him.

"Hey Naruto! You missed out on all the action!" I called out. He smiled as they stopped near the edge of the red field. I turned to the fallen statue of the Buddha.

"C'mon Naruto, help me put this statue back," I said. He nodded and we, with the help of Konohamaru, replaced the statue to its original spot.

I then summoned the Sylpheed wings and turned to the two boys. They complied and I transported them back to the edge of the area, a little slower since I was carrying Naruto and Konohamaru.

By the time we got back to Konoha, it was early afternoon. Konohamaru seemed to know where to find Kaede and so I unsealed the clover and handed it to the kid. We then followed him to the East Gate and it seemed we got there just in time.

Konohamaru walked up to the blue haired girl and handed the clover to her.

"This is the crimson four-leaf clover," said the kid. "Kaede-chan, make a wish."

She took it and smiled. "Konohamaru-kun… So you got this for me." She then closed her eyes, as if praying.

Several meters away I stood with Naruto. "Is that really going to grant a wish?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know," I said. "The old Chuunin test was to get to the centre of Akagahara and back safely. Those who did were accepted as Chuunin. I think that the wish to become Chuunin created the legend of the crimson four-leaf clover as time past."

"I see, that makes sense," replied Naruto.

"Kaede! We're going to go soon!" called the girl's mum.

Konohamaru cried out in despair. "Why didn't it work?"

(Cue song Saa, Kao wo Agete Goran by Kajiura Yuki from Erementar Gerad React OST 2)

"No, Konohamaru-kun, my wish came true," assured Kaede.

"What?"

"Because, if I have this, it would be the same as you always being with me," finished Kaede, blushing. Konohamaru blushed as well.

"Thank you, Konohamaru-kun," whispered the blue eyed girl as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye."

And then the wagon left with Kaede on the back, waving goodbye. Konohamaru also rased his hand in farewell.

We both walked up to the kid and placed our hands on each of his shoulders. "Aren't you glad now, Konohamaru?" said Naruto.

"Thank you Naruto-nii-chan, Josh-nii-chan," said Konohamaru. He wiped the tears that were threatening to spill and smiled up at us.

I smiled back. "C'mon kid. We'll treat you to some ramen at Ichiraku's, what do you say?"

His smile got bigger. "Yay!"

*********

1 Hour later

(Cue song Hekomi Mashita ga from Onegai Teacher - Soundtrack Collection)

"Huh? Where is everyone?" asked Kakashi at the edge of the red clover field. Sasuke looked at their teacher in annoyance.

"I thought you said they would be here. What do we find? Obliterated remains of stupid puppets and burnt grass." Sakura also looked annoyed, but not to the extent of brooder boy.

"Strange… I guess they left already," said Kakashi in a lazy voice.

"Now we have to go back through there?" asked Sakura. Kakashi nodded. "But it took us over an hour to get here."

"Well, come on. No time like the present!" Kakashi said as he made his way to the trees once again.

"A fact you seem to keep forgetting," grumbled Sakura.


	11. Chapter 10: Extracting Evil

**Chapter 10: Extracting Evil**

That morning I woke up feeling groggy as usual. In the mornings I have very low blood pressure so it's always hard getting up. I've been told that I'm also quite cranky just after I wake up. My friends once described me as an evil lord waking up. It doesn't last though. Usually I feel normal after my shower. I walked into the super bathroom and started washing the sleep out of my eyes. Five minutes later I trudge out of the bathroom and get dressed in my new clothes. Feeling nice and fresh I go down to the kitchen to make me some breakfast. When I got there I saw that Zabuza was siting there with some coffee. He caught sight of me and gave a small wave. "Hey, good morning," he said. I smiled and said the same back. Rummaging in the cupboards I found a mug and placed it on the counter. Grabbing some milk from the fridge and some sugar from one of the shelves I made myself a cup of coffee. I sat down and had a sip. 'Man that tastes good,' I thought as I had another sip.

"So," I said to Zabuza, "What are you doing today?"

Zabuza had a sip of his drink before answering. "There was a letter for me to report to one of the training areas for the test. Meizu, Gozu and Haku have there own tests as well. Most likely we won't be back until later this afternoon." I nodded. "Well I have some business with Naruto to do. I'll leave the key under the mat for you if I'm not back before you." Zabuza nodded back. We were silent for another few minutes before I heard Naruto come through the door. "Morning Otouto," I greeted with a smile. He smiled sleepily back. "Mornin' Aniki," he said in a sleepy voice. I watched him as he made some instant ramen for himself.

An hour later the others left for their test leaving Naruto and myself alone. By this time Naruto wasn't sleepy anymore. I turned to him. "Naruto, you know that I have been researching your dad's seal right?" He nodded. "Yeah, so you can get that piece of Soul Edge out of Kyuubi right?" I nodded. "Well last night I found a way to do so. So in a few minutes we'll go to the Hokage to ask him to oversee the process. You can never be too careful. We might need his help."

"OK," said Naruto in an energetic voice.

After a few minutes of getting ready we walked to the Hokage's office. The same secretary was there and so we were able to get through easily. Sarutobi smiled as we entered. "Hello you two. How are you getting along?" he asked.

"Fine Sarutobi, fine." I said, smiling. I looked around for a second before saying, "Can you do the privacy jutsu please?" "Of course," he answered before executing the jutsu. I then got down to business. "In the past few months I have been looking through Minato's notes on the Shiki Fuujin and have come to a solution on extracting the piece of Soul Edge from Kyuubi. I came here so you could watch us in case something goes wrong. You with me so far?" I asked. He nodded seriously.

"Now the process will go like this. I will use Soul Calibur as a key so I can enter Naruto's mindscape. I will then confront Kyuubi and try to get the piece of Soul Edge out. There will be some evil energy that will leak out of Naruto's system. The problem is that I don't know how much. It could be a small amount or it could be massive. The energy will dissipate quickly but the energy itself has an immense evil signature to it so there will be people who will be afraid and alerted to it. It is the same evil feeling that you felt coming from Kyuubi 12 years ago." I looked at Sarutobi. He nodded to say that he understood. I thought for a moment before adding, "It might be best if you place a barrier around us until I've finished. Ok, I'm starting now," I said as Naruto and I stood up. The old Hokage also stood up and got ready.

Naruto lifted his shirt and channelled some chakra so that the seal showed up. I then drew Soul Calibur and willed it into a new shape. The sword shifted into a giant crystal key. As long as the Kingdom Key from Kingdom Hearts, this key looked almost the same. I pointed the key to the seal on Naruto's chest and a blue beam shot out of the key and into the seal. I then felt as if my soul was being pulled into the seal and I blacked out.

When I came to I saw that it worked. I was in Kyuubi's room. It was a _huge_ room, somewhat dark even with some light that came from nowhere. The ceiling was plain and bare, so was the floor except for the two or so inches of water on it, water that was coming out of multitudes of cracks in the three walls that seemed to be masoned stone that looked over 10 years old. In one wall was a opening of a hallway that went off into darkness, and I could see rows of metal doors down both sides of the hall in what light there was. But opposite of the hallway, where the fourth wall should have been, was, in fact, open air. Almost.

The tall bars that made the giant gate seemed to be made of plain iron. In the middle, where the thicker sides of the two massive gates met, there was no key hole, rather, it merely had a elongated piece of paper stuck to it, with the kanji for 'seal' scribed on the paper. Beyond the bars was only darkness.

I transformed the sword to its true form and walked towards the bars. A deep rumbling sounded through the room.

"**Who disturbs my slumber?"** Two big eyes opened slightly. The irises were blood red with slitted pupils.

"I disturb your sleep Kyuubi!" I called. The eyes focused on me.

"**Who are you? You are not the brat, or anyone else I recognise."** Kyuubi said in a voice that reeked with evil.

"You are right. I am not Naruto. My name is Josh Ryu Kitsune and I have come to separate you from the piece of Soul Edge!"

"**How do you know that name?!" **asked Kyuubi, surprised. The eyes then focused on the sword at my side. **"Th-that's…!"** It had no chance to finish for I had rushed quickly into the cage and swung Soul Calibur in a wide ark. Light blue energy washed out of the sword and dissolved the chakra manifestation of Kyuubi, leaving behind a pulsing object.

(Cue Song Vegeta - Super Saiyan by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. I)

It was a rough triangular object. It seemed to be a mixture of metal and flesh, augmented together so precisely that the two could not be separated. This is what I had been searching for. My first piece of Soul Edge. I started to approach it but it seemed to sense what I was going to do for it pulsed out wave after wave of evil energy. I pulled Soul Calibur to shield me from the waves as I walked very slowly toward the object. I eventually reached it and, touching the sword to the piece of Soul Edge, I yelled out, "SOUL SEALING!!!" There was a bright flash of light and I had to shield my eyes. When I looked back I saw the two energies pushing against each other. It looked like a Dragon Ball Z beam dual and when the two powers met there was red and blue energy shooting off in every direction. And slowly, but surely, the blue energy was wining. After another few minutes of this terrific battle the good energy overwhelmed the bad and condensed around the red energy. It then shrunk to a small ball the size of a large marble. The light blue ball floated down to the water and pulsed there softly.

I picked it up, knowing that this is what I needed and was just about to leave when I felt two very feminine arms reach around me and two mounds of very prominent flesh press into my back. I stiffened instantly. I didn't relax until I heard soft sobbing. I turned slowly to face an extremely beautiful woman. Tatsuta was really cute but compared to Kyuubi she was normal.

(Cue Song Fallen Leaves - Flute Ver. from Star Ocean: Till the End of Time - Original Soundtrack Vol.1 - Disc 01)

Long wavy red hair cascaded down her shoulders in thick tendrils and stopped at her waist. Two red fox ears with white tips poked out of the mass of silky looking hair. Her dazzling red eyes, which surpassed Kurenai's in how captivating and beautiful they were, with slits for pupils had small tears clinging to her delicate looking eyelashes. Her full red lips were trembling slightly; holding back the sobs. Oh yeah, and she was naked. 'OH YEAH!!!'

"AHHH!!!" I yelled as I jumped away from her and shot away to a corner of the room, my face turned away from the naked goddess. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't kill me! I didn't see anything! Honest! …Ok so that's a lie but I didn't see much! I swear!" I said very quickly as I prepared for a nasty beating. Soft laughter echoed behind me. "No, I'm sorry. I should of realised first." There was a soft whooshing sound. "Ok, you can turn around now." I did so and saw that she was now clothed in a black Yukata. I then noticed her nine long red fox tails with white tips, waving around her. I walked slowly up to her and stopped a few feet from her. She was a head shorter than me since my real height was projected in here. She had gotten rid of her tears and was smiling at me. I smiled back, realising that she wasn't going to pound me into the ground.

"Um… I just want to say thank you for getting rid of that thing out of me. Now I'm free of that thing I can be myself. Is there anything I can do to repay you?" she asked. I nodded. "I have two things. First I want you to look out for Naruto until I try to get you out of here. Things like shielding him from harm, giving some of your chakra to help him fight. Is that alright?" I asked. She smiled at me. "Of course it's alright. I was planing to do so. What was the other thing you wanted me to do?"

At this I turned red. I could feel my face burning up. "Well it's not something you can do really… uhh," I stuttered slightly. Kyuubi cocked her head slightly to the side in slight confusion. This action made her look even cuter. "Yes?" she asked. I gulped.

"Ummm, ah… CanItouchyourtailsandears?" I blurted out. Kyuubi blushed deeply as she made out the words. "Um… sure," she stuttered. I nervously closed the gap between us and slowly reached up to her ears. I touched the tip of one and saw it twitch. I chuckled as I stroked both my hand against the two ears. It was like rubbing a pair of cat's ears. I started rubbing the bases of the two fox ears and noticed that Kyuubi had started purring like a cat. It was weird, but at the same time comforting. I chuckled again as I said, "Oh so you like that eh?" Her answer was purring louder. I looked down to see her smiling softly. I let go of one of the ears and ran the free hand through one of her tails softly. It was like touching silk. The hair of her tails was as soft as her head hair. I felt so privileged to be in this situation.

I took this time to have a closer look at her. She had an absolutely gorgeous figure. Her breasts were not overly big but were just right in my eyes. Her skin was creamy white and looked so smooth. I looked at her lips and felt like I wanted to kiss her right then and there. Looking further down I saw one of her legs poking out of the Yakuta. It was long, perfectly toned and absolutely sexy. I almost let my lust control me and used my other hand to run my fingertips over her thigh before I realised that this was not the time and even if it was, she probably wouldn't want someone feeling her up so soon after being released. Plus I was above doing such things, least until much later in a relationship. She probably wouldn't fall for a guy like me anyways. The only reason I was in this situation was because it was a favour. But _goddess_ she was beautiful. She was Venus and Aphrodite combined. She had to be anatomically correct.

I then realised that at that moment, I felt complete. Like someone had filled a hole that was present since I became aware of girls in a romantic way. I have had a few girlfriends but none made me feel like this. Like I would gladly give up my life just to make her happy: to make her laugh and to make her smile. I myself smiled sadly as I continued to rub her ears.

Sadly I had to get back so I removed my hands and laughed slightly at the pout she gave me. We both smiled at each other before the unexpected happened. She leaned up and kissed me on the cheek. She then started giggling a lot. The reason was probably because my head looked like it would explode at any moment from all the blushing. "Well, I'll see you later then, if you decide to pop in," she said as she winked at me. 'Maybe I do have a chance?'

Not wanting to die of blood loss I pocketed the small ball and changed Soul Calibur into the key. I pointed said key above me and a small blue beam shot out of the end. The beam stopped several meters above my head and a very complicated seal array appeared. A larger beam of light shot out of the middle of the seal array and struck me. I was absorbed by the beam before myself and the beam disappeared.

-Third Person View-

The old, wizened Hokage was pacing around the room. That evil chakra had disappeared and it had been a while since then. He had taken down the strong level barrier as soon as it became apparent that there was to be no more action. Naruto was sitting in the chair fidgeting. All of a sudden a light blue, very complicated seal array appeared on the ceiling. A blue beam shot down and created a big dome of white light with faint veins of light blue light. The dome of light slowly dispersed and in the middle of the disappearing dome was… (AN: If you are having trouble visualising this then watch Sephiroth's flashy entrance in Kingdom Hearts)

-Normal POV-

(Cue song Kokori ni Fueru Atatakakusa from Girls Bravo -First Season- Original Soundtrack)

"Aniki!!" I heard someone yell. I opened my eyes to see Naruto beaming at me. Sarutobi looked a little surprised but smiled all the same. "Glad your back Josh," he said. I nodded, still a little shaken up from the kiss. Naruto noticed this. "Aniki, why is your face red?" he asked innocently. Sarutobi smirked as he already knew that Kyuubi was a female. "Was she that beautiful?" he asked. I smiled dreamily as I remembered the kiss. It had felt so soft. "I'll try to explain how incredibly beautiful she is. Think of the most beautiful woman you can imagine. Then think of her as an academy student in beauty. Kyuubi would be Kami compared to her. And she kissed me too," I explained in a dreamy voice. Sarutobi's eyes bugged as he developed a small blood nose. Naruto looked confused. "What do you mean Kyuubi kissed you?" he asked in a slightly disgusted voice. I turned to him. "Oh that's right. I haven't told you. Don't know how it slipped my mind. Kyuubi's female," I said, waiting for the inevitable reaction.

"WH… WHA… WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I turned to the Hokage. "Was that your reaction Sarutobi?" I asked. The Hokage chuckled slightly at Naruto's reaction while cleaning up his nose. "No I was a little subdued in my yelling."

"KYUUBI"S A CHICK!!!!!"

I turned to Naruto. "Calm down Otouto. It's not that big of a revelation," I said. Naruto stopped screaming and looked at me, wide eyed. "It feels weird now that I know that there is a female entity living inside of me." I smiled. "Don't worry, you'll get used to the concept. And Kyuubi will help you when you are in danger ok?" the blond looked confused. I sighed. "Looks like a demonstration is needed." I then directed my voice at the seal. "Kyuubi, could you give us the demo please," I said, hoping that she could hear me. I need not have feared.

Red chakra was flowing out of his body. Unlike in the anime when Kyuubi's chakra bubbled out of him, it now just flowed out unforced. The chakra also had a feeling of peacefulness to it. No evil pulsing, no demonic presence, just a deep calming that made you feel warm. The chakra continued to come out until Naruto reached the one-tailed state. A tail made out of pure chakra swayed slowly behind him. I looked at Naruto himself and gasped slightly. His whiskers had darkened, his nails had turned into claws, and his fangs had lengthened. The irises of his eyes were red but there was no slit pupil. It was round; as if to signify that he was in control all the way. Naruto was looking at himself, and then he looked at me. "This feels great Aniki. Is this what you meant?" he asked. I nodded. "You can control the chakra to do what ever you want it to do." The chakra then seeped back into his body. I smiled at him. "Just call to Kyuubi in your mind when you need her chakra ok?" Naruto nodded. "Ok, Aniki!"

I then looked at the clock on the wall. It was nearly 5pm. I realised that I needed to be at the house to answer the calls for the position I put in the paper. "Wowzers! Is it that time already?!" I turned to Naruto. "Let's go Naruto!" Naruto jumped out of his seat and walked towards the door then stopped. "C'mon Aniki!" I stood up and walked up to stand beside him. I turned to Sarutobi. "See ya old man!" I said cheerfully. Naruto waved wildly at him. "Bye Jiji!" We then both Shunshined out of there.

After we arrived back at our house I sighed. I looked at Soul Calibur and concentrated on the sword to shape shift back to its original shape. A white glow encompassed it but when it disappeared it was still in the key shape. "Huh?" I said in confusion. I tried again but still no change. I then noticed that the sword had lost its light blue glow almost completely. Only a very faint tinge was left. 'It must've used almost all of its energy sealing that piece of Soul Edge.' I tried contacting Sophie but she didn't answer. 'Seems that this baby only has enough power for a few more teleportations.' I thought.

"Aniki, what's up with Calibur?" Naruto asked.

"It seems that Soul Calibur used almost all of its power sealing up the piece of Soul Edge. It doesn't even have enough power to shape shift. A few more teleportations from it and it will be as empty as a flat battery." I explained. "If we get into serious trouble I guess I'll be using my summons."

"Maybe it needs time to recharge itself," suggested the blond. I nodded. "Maybe." I then remembered to talk to Naruto about something. "Hey Naruto. While I'm waiting for any phone calls about the maid job I want to talk to you about something." Naruto nodded. "Ok,"

I walked into the kitchen and filled two big glasses with water and carried them back to the living room, grabbing the phone as well. I handed one of the glasses to Naruto as I sat down on the couch next to him. With the phone in reach I took a sip of the water.

(Cue Song Automobile Club by Hamaguchi Shirou from Ah! My Goddess TV OST 1)

"Naruto, how do you feel about girls?" I asked. Naruto looked at me, his eyes questioning. "I mean crush wise. You seem to have gotten over your crush on Sakura." Naruto looked at the ground. "Ever since you've been with me I've been getting stronger, faster and smarter. I guess that I was able to see that she really doesn't like me and that I should just get over my silly crush. Like you said in the classroom that day. 'We are now ninja. Professional killers. You have to put behind these childish crushes.' You were right. And so as I stopped liking her in that way I started seeing what she really was like without my 'love' blinding me."

I sighed. "Naruto, while I agree on your assessment on Sakura, that she really needs to come back down to earth, I won't discourage you in finding a nice girlfriend. For your whole life you have never known love and what it was like save for the time you spent with your parents just before the Kyuubi incident. Then when I came into your life you quickly found out what it was like to have a brother. You are not alone in this. Even though I knew my parents for most of my life I was an only child, like you. No brothers or sisters. Being a brother is new to me as well. But you are still missing one crucial part in your life. To be loved in a romantic way. When you chased after Sakura, was it because you were searching for recognition?" I asked. Naruto nodded his head slowly. "Even though ninjas are supposed to suppress their emotions, if the emotions stay suppressed the ninja will change into a mindless killing machine. Not only that, but since we're ninja, we might end up loosing our lives at a young age. You need to find love early in life. Otherwise it might be too late."

Naruto was taking this all in. I smiled at his attention. "So, is there anyone you like?" I asked. Naruto thought about this for a very long time. "Well Sakura is straight away off the list. After you told her off in the classroom I think that Ino might be interested in Chouji. I don't know why Hinata always turns away when I look at her but I like her. She's a bit weird but she always seems to be really nice to everyone as well as me. And she's kinda cute." I kept my face neutral through this last bit but I was screaming in my head, 'WHAT DO YOU MEAN KINDA CUTE?! SHE'S AS CUTE AS THEY COME!!!!' I calmed myself down. "Well, would you be willing to talk to her?" Naruto again nodded. "Yeah but I don't think she would go out with me. I don't think she likes me in that kind of way." I laughed inside my head. 'Even though he's matured a lot through these few months he's still clueless sometimes. Well I'm going to get these two together!' I resolved. At that moment the phone rang and I quickly answered.

"Hello?" I said.

A female voice on the other end came through. "Hello, I'm ringing to ask about the position as a maid that you put in the paper?"

I smiled. "Yes the position is still open. Do you want to make an appointment?"

"Yes please," she said.

"Ok, come by Ichiraku's Ramen Stand at 11am tomorrow. We'll have the interview there. Is that alright?" I asked.

"Sure, I'll be there," she said.

"Well, I'll meet you there tomorrow. Good night."

"Ok, see you tomorrow," she then hung up.

I hung up the phone and sighed, recalling the person's voice. 'I know I've heard her voice before.'


	12. Chapter 11: Maids and Nominations

**Chapter 11: Maids and Nominations**

'Well, now I know why I heard her voice before,' I thought as I sat at Ichiraku's with Tatsuta, the girl I bumped into two days ago. After the phone call Zabuza and his group came back. They said that they passed their exams and that Zabuza was now part of the ANBU assassination squad while Haku, Meizu and Gozu made Chunnin. We went to Ichiraku's to celebrate. The next day started out fine. Woke up, had a coffee, got ready and arrived at the ramen stand. I had gotten there ten minutes early. Right on the stroke of 11am Tatsuta walked into the store. I was startled that it was she that rang for the position and she was startled that I was the one that put the ad in the paper. For a few minutes we talked about what we had done in the past few days. I left out details of Soul Edge's sealing. I just said I did a few D-rank missions with my team.

After that we got down to business. It turned out that she was a servant to an old clan near the border of Fire Country. But recently the clan went bankrupt and had to disperse most of the staff. Tatsuta then travelled to Konoha in the hopes of serving a new clan. I decided that she was perfect but in order for her to be accepted she had to sign a Clan Secrecy contract. This was so she didn't blab to someone that we were living in Minato's house. She agreed, claming that she had signed a similar contract with the last clan. That explained why she didn't tell me what clan it was. After she wrote her signature on the paper I showed her to the house.

When we arrived I saw that Naruto was there as well. It looked like he had just woken up. He bowed politely to Tatsuta and she bowed in greeting back. We then gave her a tour of the house. Despite the size of the place she remained determined to do her best, saying that while the overall estate was slightly smaller this one, the house was bigger. We then agreed to have her and so she went to get her stuff. We offered to help but she said it was fine so I just gave her a key to the place saying, "Go pack your things. You'll start in three days." Just after she left I spotted a letter in the letterbox. Pulling it out I noticed it was from Kakashi. Calling Naruto over I showed him the letter. It said that the next meeting was at 2pm this afternoon. Checking the clock on my iPod we had an hour. Deciding to walk around town before showing up I got out of my white pants and put on a red pair instead. Leaving Soul Calibur at home Naruto, who wore a black t-shirt and thin, loose orange pants, and I walked around the town. It wasn't long until we found out we were being trailed. By three kids.

"Here we go," I said to Naruto. He turned to me and grinned in a very foxy way. I knew he was up to something. "I'll follow your lead," I whispered. Naruto, with me following, then walked up to the box that was supposed to look like a rock. We then sat on it creating three grunts from inside it. We chuckled before standing up. "C'mon Konohamaru, you need to work on your stealth," I said. "Yeah! What kind of rock has perfect sides, is hollow and has eye holes in it?" followed up Naruto.

"So you saw through the disguise, Nii-san?" A voice sounded from inside the box. The box then exploded with three different colored smoke bombs accompanying it. Coughing was heard from inside the smoke. "I think we used too much gun powder guys." Came Konohamaru's voice, when the smoke cleared it revealed Konohamaru along with another boy in glasses and a girl with her hair done up into two ponytails.

The three looked up at us suddenly and went through introducing themselves in an... eccentric way. The girl introduced herself as Moegi, apparently the sexiest kunoichi in preschool, the boy as Udon, who loved algebra and of course Konohamaru came last claiming to be the number one ninja in the village. By the end they introduced their group as the 'Konohamaru Ninja Squad'. At this point we had very large bead of sweat on the back of our head and Naruto had an eyebrow raised. "Okay... I gotta ask, what's up with those goggles you and your friends are wearing? They kinda look like mine." Naruto asked. "Yeah, you used to wear them around your head so we're copying you!" Konohamaru replied, shouting almost.

"Alright, so what do you guys want?" I asked.

"Can you and Naruto-nii-san play ninja with us?" asked Moegi as she used the dreaded Puppy Eye no Jutsu.

'Oh shit! Must resist overwhelming cuteness! Think other thoughts! Ice cream, beach, Kyuubi in swimsuit. OH YEAH!!! NO! CRAP!! IT"S NOT WORKING!!!' I thought. I gave in. "How about we do a game to test your evasion skills," I said. "You three will run and Naruto and I will try to tag you." Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi agreed and got a minute head start. The three younger kids took off running, weaving through the not so crowded street easily. Naruto and I grinned at each other and jumped to the roof tops of the stores and pursued our quarry throughout the village. We were having such a good time that we didn't notice Konohamaru wasn't looking in front of himself and he hit Sakura.

"Watch it!" growled Sakura before she bonked Konohamaru on the head. We jumped down to make sure he was okay since Sakura seemed to be in a bad mood.

"Itai, that hurt! That huge ugly forehead, was that really a girl? Hanabi-chan has a bigger chest than her!" exclaimed Konohamaru.

'Oh shit…' I thought.

Sakura, who had been walking away in a huff, slowly turned around in all her feminine fury before charging after a screaming Konohamaru and his friends. We joined them, knowing we had to keep Sakura from killing Konohamaru. Unfortunately, Konohamaru once again collided with someone else.

"Itai!" gasped Konohamaru as he rubbed his abused forehead before looking up at the person he had hit. It was Kankuro. He was dressed in his usual black overalls and a hood with some kind of cat ears on them. He was also wearing some purple make up and something bandaged up on his back. I spotted the sand hitai-ite showing just from under his hood. Temari was standing next to her brother dressed in a tight body suit with her large battle fan strapped to her back.

"That hurts," growled Kankuro before he grabbed Konohamaru's scarf and lifted him into the air "You little piece of shit! No one hits me and gets away with it!" he growled. Konohamaru let out a slight wail of pain. "What's the matter kid? Does that hurt?" Kankuro asked Konohamaru in a mocking tone.

"Knock it off, you'll get us in trouble," said the pig tailed girl, though her tone of voice showed she didn't really care. I then decided to take action. I looked at Naruto. "Time to fly," I said quietly, meaning for us to release the chakra in our gravity seals. We did so and then sped over to the two Sand nin. Naruto sped behind Kankuro and placed a Kunai against his neck. "I suggest putting him down," he said in a very dangerous voice. He did so. Konohamaru looked at us for a moment. "Get out of here guys!" I yelled before they finally started running. I saw Temari shifting slowly towards Naruto and I quickly flickered behind her and held my own kunai against her own neck. "I would not do that." I said in a bored tone. She growled. "Now, now, a cute girl like yourself shouldn't be growling like that," I said as I leaned over her shoulder. I accidentally looked down and saw a perfect view of her breasts. 'OH YEAH!!! NO NAUGHTY JOSH, NAUGHTY!!!'

"So, what now?" asked Naruto. "We can't stay long cause we have a meeting to go to." Kankuro spoke up. "Well you wouldn't want to miss your meeting, weaklings," he taunted. I laughed. "Considering we have the two of you in a position where a wrong move will end your ninja careers permanently; I'd suggest keeping quiet. You're on our turf now. Man, the Sand has really gone down the drain. Naruto," I called to him. "Let's go." We both released them and then flickered to a point 5 meters away.

"Heh, you guys are pretty good. But lets see how you fare against this," said Kankuro as he grabbed the bandage wrapped thing on his back and swung it around. "You think you're pretty smart, but I hate show-offs like you guys the most!"

"What a hypocrite you are. You say you hate show-offs but you're showing off right now. Trying to bark louder when you haven't even done anything." I said. I then got into the Kamehameha stance and started focusing my physical power in between my hands. A bright blue ball appeared in between my hands. I focused more into the ball creating bright beams of light to shine through my fingers.

"I wasn't showing off before but I am now!" I roared over the sound the technique was making. The ball was now as big as a basketball and the ground started shaking. I started flaring my Physical Energy or Ki energy to make me more intimidating. "The only difference is that between normal showing off and what I'm doing now is that this technique will kill you instantly if you don't back down now!" The ground began to rumble softly due to the amount of energy I was putting out. Small stones rose off the ground and pulverised themselves into dust. For the finishing touch I sent chakra into my eyes to make them glow brightly.

Kankuro looked like he was just about to wet himself and Temari wasn't in much better shape. "OK WE"LL BACK DOWN!!!!" yelled Kankuro before he and his sister collapsed to the ground. I then closed my eyes and suppressed the Kamehameaha Wave. I felt it getting smaller and smaller before it disappeared completely. I released my Ki energy and the rumbling died down. Lastly I stopped channelling chakra into my eyes. I opened them and looked down at the Sand nin. They were looking at me in fear. I walked to them and helped them up. I smiled at them. "I'm glad that you stood down for two reasons. First is I would like us to be friends. I only retaliated because you were picking on one of my friends. And the second is that if you had stood your ground then I would have had to fire my technique and I didn't want to do that. For behind you is the commercial district and my technique would have destroyed it all." I heard a gasp from Naruto as he spoke up. "But that's a fourth of Konoha!" he exclaimed. I nodded. "Yeah, I know." Kankuro and Temari were bug eyed. I then turned to Naruto. "Let's go meet up with Kakashi." I looked over my shoulder at the two ninja. "Enjoy your time at the Chunnin Exams." We then walked away from them, heading toward the bridge that we usually met up with the rest of the team.

"Hey, were you serious that it would have taken out the entire Commercial District?" asked Naruto. I shook my head. "No, the things in the way of the Kamehameha wave would have been obliterated and with the amount of power I put into the Kamehameha it would have run out of power half way across Fire Country." Naruto was bug eyed himself.

*********

"Dammit! Where is Kakashi-sensei!?" Naruto asked out loud, obviously frustrated. He took out a couple of kunai and started twirling them to pass the time.

About ten minutes later Kakashi finally showed with his ever present book and the usual greeting. "Yo! Sorry I'm late, I-"

"Stop trying Hatake. It's always obvious that you're lying, I don't even know why you bother any more." I cut in.

"You could at least let me finish Josh." Kakashi said in his usual monotone.

"Maybe if you come 15 minutes late instead of an hour," I said.

"Well anyway," said Kakashi, "This is sudden, but I've nominated you guys for the Chuunin Selection Exam. Fact is that I was impressed with the way you handled yourselves in Akagahara, so…" He extended his hand revealing four applications. "Here are your applications."

Naruto and I smiled as we took one of the slips of paper. Sakura looked numb. "Chuunin Exam…" she mumbled.

"But this is just a nomination. It's up to you whether to take the exam or not. If you do, sign the application and take them to room 301 at the school by 3pm six days from now," explained Kakashi.

Sakura and Sasuke picked the last two applications. Kakashi eye smiled at us. "That is all," he said before Shunshining away.

We all started walking away as a group. "Chuunin Exam, huh?" said Naruto in barely contained excitement. "There's going to be a lot of strong guys in this thing. And even if we don't pass, we'll still gain invaluable experience."

There was a long silence before Sasuke broke the silence.

"Josh," he said. I swivelled my head to look at him. "Yeah, what's up?" I asked. I decided to be friendlier to him today.

"Can I speak to you privately?" he said softly.

"Wha…?! Uh… sure, I guess." I was surprised. Not everyday you see this. I turned to the others. "Naruto, Sakura, wait for us ok?" I said before jumping into some trees. I sat on one of the branches. Sasuke sat next to me.

"So spit it out," I said.

"I want to ask you how you are so strong," he said. I looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Sasuke looked at me. "I saw you scare those sand nin. You used some sort of power. I could hardly sense anything coming from you and yet you command so much power. How?"

'Crap! He saw me! Oh well. I might be able to get through to him.' I thought before looking at him seriously. "You really want to know?" I asked. He nodded. I sighed.

"Love, caring, fighting for those you consider precious to you. That is where true strength comes from." I then jumped off the tree and walked back to Naruto. I felt Sasuke follow but he stayed quiet.

I spotted Naruto and called, "Hey Naruto. Let's go check out the competition. They should be coming through the West Gate." He nodded and we both Shunshined away.

When we got to the gate we saw the Rain, Sound and Grass teams coming through. They all looked tough but I focused my attention on the long haired, feminine looking Grass nin. I knew that she was the real deal and that Orochimaru had not stolen her face yet.

'Soon, Orochimaru. Soon.'

*********

The next day we started our new hard training schedule.

9:00am - Wake Up and Quick Breakfast

9:30am - Run as many laps around Konoha as you can until mid-day. Try to add another lap every day.

12:00 - Lunch and Recreation

1:00pm - Rasengan Training

3:00pm - Ninjutsu Training

4:00pm - Taijutsu and Agility Training

5:00pm - Chakra Training

6:00pm - Dinner

7:00pm - Strategy Training

8:00pm - Study

9:00pm - Sleep

No more studying Konoha History. The only studying was learning what we were up against. We used our excellent stealth to read the files on everyone competing. It was also double Rasengan Training so Naruto could complete the jutsu before the Exam. It would give him an edge.

We ran into Konohamaru and the gang as we were strolling around town after lunch.

"Naruto-nii-chan! Josh-nii-chan! Let's play together!" Konohamaru called.

"Sure! We don't have a mission today but not for long ok? We have training to do." I said.

They all yelled for joy. Suddenly a rain ninja appeared behind Moegi. He picked her up and jumped up to land in a tree.

"Leaders! Konohamaru-chan!" yelled Moegi.

Konohamaru pointed his finger at the nin. "What're you doing with Moegi!?" he yelled.

The Rain ninja didn't say anything as he jumped away. "Naruto! Let's go!" I called to him as we jumped after him.

The Rain nin wasn't really fast. Average Chuunin speed. I matched Naruto's speed and said quietly, "Must be Iruka testing us. He probably objected to us being entered in the exam and the Hokage agreed for him to test us. Sasuke and Sakura are probably going to be tested as well but seeing as he doesn't know about me much it's probably you that is being tested now." Naruto nodded.

We reached the clearing where the two of them were. Naruto pointed at the Rain nin. "What are you gonna do with Moegi!?" he asked while keeping the knowledge that it was Iruka out of the fight.

"What am I going to do?" asked the nin. He drew a kunai and pointed it at the young girl. "You wanna know?"

Naruto gritted his teeth. The nin laughed. "I want the First Hokage's Scroll of Forbidden Seals. If you bring it here I'll let her go."

I smirked. 'He could of chosen a different scenario but whatever works." I thought.

"What are you standing around for? Hurry and bring the Scroll of Forbidden Seals!" said the nin.

Naruto smirked. "And what if I say no?" he said with a cocky attitude.

"Don't you care what happens to this kid?" asked the nin while bringing the kunai closer.

"Well you'll be disappointed to know that it's a bundle of straw," Naruto said simply.

"What!?" The nin turned around to see a straw dummy strapped to the tree where Moegi was a moment ago. "When did he…" the nin asked, mainly to himself. He then looked up to see another Naruto with Moegi next to him.

"Bastard… Bunshin no Jutsu, eh?" growled the nin. He was just about to jump towards the new Naruto when the first threw a net over him. Three clones charged towards him and dog piled the Rain nin.

"Naruto-nii-chan!" called Konohamaru as he and Udon caught up. Naruto looked around and smiled. "Ah, you're late Konohamaru!"

I walked up to Naruto. "Well done Otouto. You did a fine job." Naruto beamed at me, flashing his foxy grin.

-Later on that night with Team Gai-

"Hey, did you hear?" said Lee. "For the first time in five years there are going to be rookies in the Chuunin Exam."

"No way!" said a female voice that belonged to Tenten Higurashi, daughter of Tenchu. She played with a kunai expertly. "It's probably some stubborn Jounin competing with each other or something."

"No," disagreed Lee. "The story is that four of them are students of _that_ Kakashi. They include Josh Ryu Kitsune and Uzumaki Naruto, who I've seen both running laps around Konoha before, and Uchiha Sasuke." Lee finished his explanation.

"That sounds interesting…" said another male voice in a bored tone. This one belonged to Hyuuga Neji.

"But in the end…" Tenten threw the last kunai at the target.

"You have to feel sorry for them," finished Neji who was smirking.

-Five days later-

Naruto and arrived at the Academy. We had trained our guts out. We each sported new gravity seals that were both raised to 750 kg. No new ninjutsu were learned. We concentrated on what we learned. Naruto now knew the Rasengan so well that he didn't need a clone to help. We were faster, stronger and smarter.

A few minutes of waiting and we saw Sasuke. He walked up to us and did the unthinkable. He smiled. Not his usual cocky smirk, but a smile that you give to friends. "Hey Sasuke, glad you see the truth." I said. He nodded back and we waited for Sakura. She appeared quite a bit later.

"Sakura-san, there you are." I said. We made our way into the school. There were many gennin crowded round the entrance to the next level.

I spotted Lee trying to get through the two what appeared to be leaf gennin that were guarding the way. One kicked him back. "You plan to take on the Chuunin exam with that!?" asked the one that kicked Lee incredulously. He looked like a younger version on Kotetsu.

"You guys should just quit now." Said his partner who looked like a younger version of Izumo. "You're just little kids." Finished Kotetsu.

Tenten tried putting on her little girl voice. "Please let us though." She tried to get passed the two but Izumo punched her back.

"Horrible…" someone murmured.

"What did you say? Listen, we're being kind. The Chuunin Exam isn't easy," explained Kotetsu.

"Among those that take this exam, many end up quitting as shinobi. Others aren't able to recover at all… We've seen it many times before," continued Izumo.

"And Chuunin is the level of military platoon captains. The failure of a mission, the death of a soldier… That is the entire captain's responsibility. Yet kids like you think…" said Kotetsu.

"We're just thinning out those that will fail anyway. What's wrong with that?"

I turned to my team mates. "Let me handle this. I know these two jokers." They nodded. I walked with my team mates behind me.

"I agree, but I think that this is not your job. Izumo, Kotetsu." I said while smiling.

"Crap! We've been discovered. And by Josh no less," complained Kotetsu.

"This is the last time I tag along with you to scare the genins," said Izumo, frowning. They then released the henge on themselves to reveal the real Chuunin.

"Hey guys! What's been happening?" I asked.

"We've just been given some time off. We've been helping out with the preparations of the Exam. By the way, how did you know it was us?" asked Izumo.

I sighed. "You henged into younger versions of yourself. It was obvious to me."

"He's got a point Izumo," said Kotetsu.

"So how about you let us through guys. And get rid of the genjutsu. The weak guys will be wiped out in the coming exam," I said.

The two sighed. "Looks like our fun is over," said Kotetsu as they moved out of the way. "You kick some ass Josh!" he added. Izumo nodded. "Yeah, we'll be rooting for you." I smiled. "Thanks guys," I answered as we walked up the stairs.

We reached an open area. It was then I heard someone calling.

"Wait up!"

I turned to see Lee with his team mates. I smiled and waved at him. "Hey Lee! How ya been?" I asked. He smiled at me. "I have been well Josh-kun." He then walked toward Sakura. "I am Rock Lee, and you are Sakura-san," he introduced.

"Huh?" said Sakura.

Lee then did the good guy pose which consisted of him giving the thumbs up and smiling widely, making his teeth sparkle. "Let's go out together! I will protect you until I die!" Cue teeth sparkle.

A major sweat drop formed on Sakura and mine's head. "No… Way…" she said. Lee's eyes and mouth widened in shock. "Eh?" was all he could say. "You're lame," finished off Sakura. Lee hung his head.

"Hey, you…" said Neji, looking at Sasuke. "What's your name?"

"It's rude to not give your own name first," said Sasuke as he slipped back into his cocky attitude. Neji ignored him. "You're a rookie right? How old are you?" he instead asked.

"I don't have to answer you," Sasuke calmly shot back.

"What?" said Neji in annoyance. I walked up to Sasuke and stood beside him. "That's Hyuuga Neji of the Hyuuga Branch House. A genius in the Hyuuga fighting style, the Jyuuken, and wielder of the Byakugan, Neji was Rookie of the Year last year. He uses the Jyuuken style for offensive and the Kaiten for defensive." I finished my report. Sasuke turned to me and smiled one of those new smiles for him. "Thanks," he said.

As Neji and Tenten walked away, Lee spoke up. "You with the sharp eyes," Sasuke looked at Lee. "Will you fight me right here, right now?"

'I wonder Sasuke, with your recent attitude change, what will you do?'


	13. Chapter 12: Meeting the Contenders

**Chapter 12: Meeting the Contenders**

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Fight you right here, right now?" he asked. "Hai!" called out Lee before jumping off the stairs and landing with perfect balance. "My name is Rock Lee," he reintroduced himself. He pointed at Sasuke. "You're supposed to identify yourself before asking someone else's name, right…? Uchiha Sasuke-kun,"

"Hn, so you know my name." said Sasuke before smiling apologetically. "Sorry, but we need to turn in our applications now. Maybe we'll fight in the exam,"

'Man, Sasuke has really come around,' I thought. We started walking away but Lee had to push more.

"Are you running away?" he asked innocently. Sasuke stiffened. He turned his head and narrowed his eyes at Lee. "No-one calls me a coward!" he growled. He then reined in his emotions and asked, "Why me?"

"I would like to see how my moves will do against a descendant of the genius ninja clan. Also…" Lee looked over at Sakura. She stiffened quickly. Lee blushed. "Sakura-san… I love you."

"NOOOOOO!!!! I hate those eyelashes!" screamed Sakura. Naruto, Sasuke and I chuckled at her reaction. Sakura started shivering. "Your hairstyle, fuzzy eyebrows, and everything about you is too unique for me!"

But Lee would not take the hint. "You're an angel." He then somehow summoned up a love heart and blew it toward the girl. She freaked out as she narrowly dodged the projectile. The heart flew passed and collided with the wall with a slight splat.

"Very nice. How about this?" Lee repeated the action several times to send a swarm towards Sakura.

"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" she cried out as she dodged every one of them ending up bent backwards and slamming her head on the floor to evade the last one.

She got up with a big bruise on her head. She breathed deeply as if she had just ran a marathon. "That was really close." she muttered. In a much louder voice she yelled at Lee, "Stop throwing weird things at me! I had to dodge those like my life depended on it!" Lee's shoulders sagged. "You didn't need to avoid them that much…"

"Well let's get started shall we?" said Sasuke as he settled into his stance.

"Yes!" replied Lee as he readied his own stance.

The two were still for a moment before Sasuke charged. Lee waited until the last moment. Sasuke aimed a punch at his face, but was surprised as Lee disappeared. He appeared on his left in the air. Lee swung his leg at Sasuke. "Konoha Sennpu!!" Sasuke dodged quickly. Lee dropped to the ground and aimed a low kick to Sasuke's face. Sasuke brought his hands up to guard but was too slow. The blow caught the raven haired boy and he sailed away from Lee. He skidded to a halt.

Sasuke slowly got to his feet, looking bewildered. He then smirked. "Oh well, this is a good time to exercise my 'things'," he said. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, the Sharingan blazed. Two tomoe were imbedded in each eye.

He charged again. Lee waited calmly. He crouched down and slammed his foot in an uppercut. Sasuke was propelled high into the air. He landed easily but Lee was already on the offensive. The green clad boy was dodging all of Sasuke's punches and delivering powerful blows the Uchiha. He staggered back and looked at Lee.

"My moves are neither Ninjutsu nor Genjutsu. It is pure Taijutsu." Lee disappeared again and appeared behind Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, you may not be able to believe it right away but…" Sasuke interrupted by swinging a punch at Lee. He moved quickly out of his range. "I hear the Sharingan has the ability to see through Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Taijutsu. You can definitely see through and deal with Genjutsu and Ninjutsu that require forming seals and focusing chakra. But for Taijutsu, it's a little different."

"Wh-what do you mean?" asked Sasuke.

"Even though you can see my movement with your bloodline limit, your body does not have the speed to keep up with mine. In other words, You may be able to see me, but if you can't keep up, then it's useless. Do you know that there are two types of people among the strong? If your Sharingan is a genius-type that carries the blood of the Uchiha line…" Sasuke then lost all rational thought and charged Lee. "Then I am a hard working type that continuously improved my Taijutsu." Sasuke attacked Lee but Lee just easily dodged as he continued explaining.

"Your Sharingan and my ultimate Taijutsu skills are a bad combination." Lee repeated his earlier uppercut kick and again sent him flying. This time Lee jumped and appeared next to Sasuke. 'Oh shit! He's going to use it!' I thought.

"And I will prove to you with this move that hard work can surpass a genius," finished Lee. The bandages around his arms loosened.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!!!" I yelled and blasted the two with my jutsu. With the technique disrupted Naruto moved in to catch Sasuke. Lee, though surprised, landed fine. I stomped up to him. "Lee," I growled. Lee gulped. "But I wasn't going to use the Reverse version!" he said. I gritted my teeth. "You think that makes it alright? That move is forbidden, and you use it without your sensei's permission, on a Konoha ninja no less!" I said in a voice that was bordering on a yell.

I turned to Naruto. "How is he, Otouto?" I asked. Naruto looked up. "He's shaken up a bit but he's fine."

I turned back to Lee and sighed. "Since we are friends I won't tell Gai ok?" Lee smiled thankfully, but froze when he heard a voice behind him.

"Too late! I already know!"

'Oh no! I don't need this now!' I thought as I looked over Lee's shoulder.

A strange looking man that looked like an older version of Lee appeared behind Lee.

"You guy's are in the Spring Time of your life, aren't you?!" the man called out.

"Anyone but Super Thick Brows!" Naruto and I both groaned together. I knew Lee was Gai's favorite pupil, but Lee was cool. Gai was just plain weird.

"Super thick," muttered Sakura.

"Hey! Stop insulting Gai-sensei!" yelled Lee. The boy started to charge Naruto, only to be halted by Gai.

"Lee!" yelled the green clad Jounin.

"Oh, yes Gai-sensei?" asked Lee as he spun to face Gai.

"BAKA!" yelled Gai as he slugged Lee. He hit the ground and looked up at Gai as the Jounin knelt down on one knee. "You are… you are," stammered Gai.

"Sensei," gasped Lee. Tears started pouring from the eyes of sensei and student as Lee stammered, "Sensei, I…I."

"That's enough Lee, you don't need to say it," sobbed Gai as he grabbed Lee and the two hugged. Then the sunset on the beach backdrop appeared.

"Sensei!" wailed Lee.

"It's all right Lee. Youth and mistakes go together," said Gai as he released Lee.

"You are to nice Gai-sensei," sobbed Lee.

"But you did start a fight and almost broke my rules. Therefore your punishment will take place after the Chunin Exam! Five Hundred laps around the practice range!" yelled Gai as he punched the air.

"Hai!" yelled Lee as he saluted Gai.

By this time I had sneaked back to the others. I whispered, "Let's get out of here before he notices." My team mates nodded and we sneaked out of there. Thankfully we were unnoticed.

*********

We arrived at the room 301 with minuets to spare. Kakashi was in front of the door, waiting.

"So, Sakura came as well," he said.

My team mates looked confused so Kakashi elaborated. "You can now officially register for the Chuunin Exam."

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"To tell you the truth, this exam can only be taken in teams of three or in our case, four."

Sakura continued to question. "But you said that we could decide if we wanted to take it or not."

"Yeah, I did," said Kakashi.

"You lied?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes. I don't know about Josh, but if I said the truth, Sasuke and Naruto would have forced you to go. Even if you didn't want to go, if Sasuke asked you, you would try to take the exam anyway. For Sasuke, and for Naruto." Kakashi explained.

"So what would of happened if only Sasuke-kun, Naruto and Josh came here?" asked Sakura. I decided to answer this one. "Then we would not have been admitted. A prerequisite for the exam is that we take it as a team."

"Josh is right. But you four came here on your own free will." He then looked at Sakura. "Sakura," the girl smiled with confidents. "Naruto," the blond grinned. "Sasuke," the boy also grinned. "Josh," I smiled.

"Well done. I'm proud of the four of you. You're my team." Kakashi moved out of the way. "Now go."

I looked at my team mates and grinned. "Let's do this!" I said as we opened the door and stepped inside.

"Wow," was the only thing to pass through the mouths of my team mates as we stared into the room packed full of shinobi from all the different countries. All the shinobi were staring in the direction of us. I decided to bite back and so I leaked some chakra into my eyes to make them glow brightly as well as flair my Ki a bit. It had the desired effect as they all flinched back.

As the glairing match ended, a female voice said "You guys are here too?!" before a blond Kunoichi stepped up to us. "I haven't seen you guys for a while so I've been waiting in excitement!" squealed Ino.

Sakura instantly forgot all about the tension in the room and yelled, "What are you doing here?! You Ino-pig!"

"Oh my, it's Sakura. Your forehead is wide and you're still ugly… as usual," countered Ino.

"What did you say?!" growled Sakura as Ino added a poked out tongue to her rival.

"What, are you four going to take this troublesome exam too?" asked Shikamaru as he and Chouji walked over.

"Hey guys. How have you been?" I asked. "Alright, I guess. Though I don't know why Asuma-sensei entered us in this," replied Shikamaru. Chouji smiled. "Hey Josh, Naruto."

"Yahoo! We found you!" called Kiba as his team walked towards us. I smiled. "Hello Kiba, Shino," I spotted Hinata behind Kiba and walked over to stand in front of her. "And a fine hello to you too Hinata."

Hinata managed to stutter out a faint "Hello, Josh-kun, Naruto-kun." I smiled. "Hey Akamaru," I greeted as I scratched the puppy behind the ears. He barked at me in greeting back. I then looked at everyone. "Well I guess all us rookies are in eh? We should stick together for the exam." I suggested. Everyone nodded, agreeing.

"How far do you think we can get, Sasuke-kun?" asked Kiba in mock seriousness.

"Well you'll have to ask Josh. He's the team leader," answered Sasuke.

"Wh-what? Me? Since when?" I asked. Sasuke turned to face me. "Since now. I put my vote forward and I'm sure Naruto will as well. I think you are the most responsible person out of everyone here, including us. We'll follow your orders, Josh,"

"Man Sasuke, you really changed." Said Kiba who was in shock at Sasuke's new attitude.

"Sasuke, I'm starting to think that it was a bad idea setting you straight." I mumbled. I then saw someone walk up to us.

"Hey you guys." We all looked over to the speaker and saw an older boy with silver hair and glasses. I tensed myself and narrowed my eyes instantly. 'Kabuto. Orochimaru's right hand man.'

"Most of you are rookies fresh out of the Academy right? Screaming like schoolgirls, geez, this isn't a picnic!" said Kabuto.

"And you are?" asked Sasuke.

"I'm Kabuto, but instead of that, look behind you!" said Kabuto. The others did as instructed and saw three Hidden Rain shinobi glaring at them. "Those guys behind you are from the Hidden Rain, they have short tempers. Everyone is nervous about this exam, quiet down before you cause a scene. Well, I can't blame you, you are clueless rookies. You remind me of how I used to be."

"Ano, Kabuto-san? Is this your second time?" Sakura asked.

"Nope, my seventh time," said Kabuto as he reached for his supply pouch. "This exam is held twice a year so this is my fourth year."

"So you must know a lot about this exam," Sakura assumed.

"Yeah, that's right."

I huffed. "But he hasn't passed. Fat lot of use that is."

Kabuto looked sheepish as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, that's true."

"Is the Chuunin Exam that difficult? This is getting even more troublesome," muttered Shikamaru loudly.

"That's right," said Kabuto as he held up some strange looking cards. "Hehe, I'll share some info with you cute rookies with these Nin-info cards"

"Nin-Info cards?" asked Sakura.

"In simple terms, it's a card that has information burned into it using my chakra. I've collected information on this exam for the past four years." He placed the deck on the ground and picked up the top one. "There's about 200 cards total." He turned the card over revealing it to be blank.

"It looks white but to get the info from this card you channel chakra into the card, and even then, you need my chakra to see the info." He sent a burst of chakra into the card. A map appeared, a specific type that listed the Hidden Villages participating in the Exam, the total number of ninjas in the exam and the number of ninja from each village including a 3D graph.

"Hmm, seems like there are no Rock or Mist ninjas here even though they have bigger things to worry about. Rock I can understand staying away from us. And Mist is in a state of civil unrest due to the bloodline war." I thought aloud, not realising so.

"Ahem, the exam's total number of examinees and countries participating. It also has the number of participants from each hidden village." Kabuto looked up at us. "Let me ask, why do you think we do the Chuunin Exam together?"

I decided to stay out of this conversation. The last thing I needed happening was for me to think out loud again.

Getting no answer Kabuto explained. "First, it's to deepen the relationships of friendly countries. Second it's to heighten the level of the ninja. Those are the official reasons."

"Official reasons?" asked Sasuke curiously.

"Yes, the real purpose is to confirm the level of the ninja in each country to try and balance out the power."

"And why do they go through such a troublesome task?" asked Shikamaru.

"If they don't do that, the weak countries get invaded and dominated by strong ones like the Leaf and Cloud Villages. So they need to check and restrain each other's powers. It's just my guess though," Kabuto finished.

"Are there any cards there that have detailed personal info?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes, is there anyone that interests you?" asked the boy in glasses.

"Yes, Rock Lee of Konoha and Josh Ryu Kitsune of Konoha," said Sasuke.

"Jeez Sasuke, you could of asked." I said. Sasuke smiled at me. "True, but would you have answered me truthfully?" I smiled slyly at him. "Touché,"

"Ok first up is Rock Lee," announced Kabuto. "He's a Taijutsu expert and only a year older than you rookies. His sensei is Gai and his team mates are Hyuga Neji and Tenten. Missions completed: 20 D-rank, 11 C-rank. Like you guys this is his first time taking the exam." Kabuto held up Lee's card and showed it to everyone gathered around him.

"Next is Josh Ryu Kitsune. He received an alias calling him 'The Angel Warrior'. Not much is known about him since he arrived at Konoha three months ago. No info on his past. Wielder of an ancient sword called Soul Calibur. Sensei is Hatake Kakashi and his team mates are Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. Missions Completed: 50 D-Rank and an A-Rank. Was seen using two unknown techniques. Strong in Kenjutsu and speed." finished Kabuto as he showed the card around.

I turned to Sasuke. "See, nothing you don't know already."

"Hmph," Sasuke huffed.

"Konoha, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall and Sound. This year, many talented Genins from these Hidden Villages have come here to take the exam. The Hidden Village of Sound is a new ninja village that was recently made in the Rice Country, so I don't have much info on them." I quietly slipped my hand into my seals pocket on my white trench coat and pulled out three of the paralysing seals I made before going up against Kakashi.

"Either way, they are all very strong." Said Kabuto.

"I'm starting to lose confidence…" said Hinata quietly.

"In other words, the examinees here are all…" Sakura trailed off.

"That's right, It's not just Lee. All these people are the top elites from their respective countries. This isn't that easy," explained Kabuto.

I looked at Naruto and caught his eye. He grinned and nodded. We took a deep breath and called out together.

"**Hey you bastards!" **we yelled out as we pointed to our competitors. They all turned to glare at us. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, the Hero Without Fear!" "And my name is Josh Ryu Kitsune, the Angel Warrior!" **"And we won't lose to any of you! You got that?!"**

I breathed out, feeling good. Naruto was also grinning in a foxy way. "Man that felt good," sain Naruto. "Sure did," I agreed. "By the way, nice alias name," I added. Naruto smirked at me. "Well you shouldn't be the only one to get a cool nickname." The crowd was still glaring at us so we did a little trick. While training we found that performing the Shunshin jutsu but not activating it, allowed us to have our Shunshin elements to flare around us. We did this now. It looked like it made an impact for they flinched back for the second time that hour as they saw tendrils of flame and wind spiral around us. We stopped the technique when they all looked away.

I spotted the Sand team still staring at us so I waved at them casually. They didn't wave back. I looked at Team Gai and waved to them. Lee waved back but the other two remained still.

I then saw the Sound team tense. I walked over to Naruto. "Naruto, I spotted the Sound team getting ready to attack." Naruto nodded slowly. I slipped one of the paralysing seals into his hand. "You go after the grey haired guy and slap this on his back. I've charged them with chakra so it will work the instant you place it on him. I'll take care of the other two." Naruto nodded again. The sound nins then made their move. "Go!" I said as I dispersed the chakra in my weights. I moved at over triple their speed as I got behind the mummy looking one. I smiled and slapped the first seal on his back. I then moved to the girl and placed the second seal on her back. I looked at Naruto to see that he had successfully taken out his target. We then poured chakra back into our gravity seals and walked in front of the Sound team.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should know better than to attack us before the exam." I said.

"What did you do to us?" growled out the one wrapped in bandages.

"A paralysis and chakra suppression hybrid seal is on your back. You can't move and you can't focus chakra for jutsus," I explained.

A sudden BANG followed by a cloud of smoke at the front of the room caught everyone's attention as a voice yelled, "Quiet down you worthless bastards!"

The smoke cleared to reveal a bunch of Konoha shinobi in fancy uniforms and a scar faced man in a black trench coat. "Thanks for waiting," said the trench coated man, "I'm Morino Ibiki, the examiner for the Chunin exam's first test."


	14. Chapter 13: The First Exam

**Chapter 13: The First Exam**

(Cue song WRO March by Masashi Hamauzu from DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII- OST)

Ibiki pointed to the three shinobi from Hidden Sound. "Hidden Sound guys, stop doing as you please before the exam. Do you want to fail already?" demanded Ibiki.

"I apologize, this is our first time, we got carried away," said the bandage wrapped shinobi.

Ibiki smirked as I removed the seals. I heard the grey haired one whisper, "You better watch your back kid," in a very menacing way that seemed to promise pain and lots of it.

"I might as well say this now, there will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner. Even if permission is granted, killing your opponent will not be tolerated. Pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?" growled Ibiki.

"Heh, this exam sounds easy," said the head armour wearing Sound nin.

"Now, we will start the first test in the Chunin Exam. Instead of your current seating arrangements, you will pick one of these tabs," here Ibiki held up a small square with the number one on it, "and sit in the seat assigned to you. We will then hand out the exams."

I sidled up to the proctor that was in charge of the tabs and saw that it was Meizu. "Hey Meizu, what are you doing here!"

"Hey Josh, I was chosen to help with the Chuunin Exam. A few guys were sick. Something going round. So this is my first assignment," explained the older brother of the two.

"Well I'm sure you'll do fine," I assured. Meizu nodded. "Good luck man."

I looked at the tab I got. '27, eh?' I thought. I started going through the seats. '27… 27… 27… Ah! Here it is,' I thought as I sat down next to a cute looking Cloud kunoichi. She had long blue hair and electric blue eyes. She turned her head to look at me. I waved slightly as I introduced myself. "Hey! My name's…" I didn't get a chance to continue as she turned the other way. I quietly huffed. 'She didn't have to be like that. Oh well,'

"Do not turn your test over and listen closely to what I have to say," said the scar covered man. "There are many important rules to this first test. I'll write them on the board as I explain, but questions will not be allowed, so listen carefully!"

Ibiki turned his back to us and started writing on the board as he said, "The first rule, you all start with ten points. The test has ten questions, each worth one point, but this is a subtraction exam. For each wrong answer you lose a point. A perfect score on the test will let you keep all your points. Getting all the questions wrong means you get zero points. The second rule is that this is a team test. Whether you pass or not is determined by your team's combined score. So each team starts with thirty points and sees how many you can hold from that amount. The third rule is that during this exam, anyone the proctors catch doing sneaky activity, namely cheating, will have two points subtracted for each offense! So there will be some who will lose all their points during the exam and be asked to leave."

One of the seated proctors, whom I recognized as Kotetsu, grinned and said, "We'll 'check' you at any time."

'Yeah, yeah. Whatever…' I deliberately yawned loudly in his direction, causing him to chuckle quietly.

Ibiki continued speaking, "Realize that the idiots caught cheating are only hurting themselves. As shinobi trying to achieve the rank of Chunin, be proud ninja! And the final rule, anyone who loses all their initial points during the test or fails to answer any questions correctly will be failed along with their two teammates!"

'Naruto will be fine. We went over some info gathering skills this past week,' I thought.

"The exam will last one hour!" said Ibiki as he wrote down the start time on the board. He then watched the clock as the second hand inched closer and closer to the twelve. "Ok, BEGIN!"

(Cue song Shinri by WATABE Chierul from Prince of Tennis Original Soundtrack 2)

There was a rush of paper as the test began. I smiled and started focusing. In the past week I expanded the use of my bloodline. I discovered that my bloodline limit didn't deal with only one sense, touch. It seemed that it also covered all senses. So I used the bloodline limit, which I still hadn't thought up a name for it, and listened for the first pencil to start writing; knowing that it would be one of the Chunin plants. I heard a pencil start to write somewhere along my row. I focused into the sound, blotting out all other noise. I then started coping the strokes from the sound of the pencil. 'I would make a good Sound ninja,' I thought as I sped through the questions.

By the time I had finished the questions, I had ten minutes left until the final 'question'. I took out my iPod and listened to some Empire of the Sun and bobbed my head to the soft beat of the song. I looked over at the cute girl next to me, making sure that I didn't look like I was cheating. She seemed fine, probably using some sort of Raiton jutsu to cheat. I could be wrong. She could be as smart as Sakura and be getting through this exam on pure brain power alone. Idly I wondered how Naruto was doing. I assured myself that he would be fine.

While I was waiting I decided to have a small look around. Naruto had ended up sitting next to Hinata. Sasuke and Sakura were separated from each other. Ino looked like she was using her Mind Body Switch Jutsu to pass the answers to her team mates. I spotted Tenten using the mirrors in the ceiling lights to get the answers for her and Lee, since Neji was using his Byakugan. Akamaru was helping his master with the exam and Shino was most likely using his bugs. Spotting Gaara I saw him using his third eye jutsu. Kankuro had gone to the bathroom to use his puppet. Temari was waiting for her brother. Other then all the people I knew, quite a few ninja were knocked out of the test for cheating badly.

'Only the people who were successful in getting through the first part of the first exam are left. Now Ibiki will spring the last question to test our resolve.' I thought as the last few seconds of the ten minutes ticked by. I stopped the music and tucked away my iPod to wait for the next test.

Ibiki cleared his throat and said, "Okay, time for the tenth question!" which had the entire room's attention focused on him.

"Now, there are a few new rules for this question," said Ibiki, but before he could go on the door to the room opened and Kankuro walked back in with his Chunin escort. "Heh, good timing," said Ibiki. "Was your playing with dolls beneficial?" Kankurou seemed to freeze for a second before resuming his march to his seat. "Just sit down," said Ibiki. After Kankurou was in his seat, Ibiki stood up and started pacing in front of the black board. "I'll now explain the rules of desperation."

"First, for this tenth question, you must choose whether or not to take it," said Ibiki.

The fan wielding Suna kunoichi Temari suddenly yelled, "Choose? What happens if we choose not to?"

"Those that choose not to answer will have their points reduced to zero and fail automatically along with their two team mates! But if you fail this question, you will lose the right to ever take the Chunin Exam again!"

There was a moment of shocked silence before Kiba yelled, "What kind of stupid rule is that? There are guys here who have taken the exam before?"

"You're just unlucky I'm running the show this year and my rules are the ones that matter," said Ibiki. "But because I'm not a complete bastard I'm giving you a way out. Those that aren't confident can choose not to take the question and try again next year."

'Man, is this guy good or what?' I thought as I grinned.

"Now, let's begin the tenth question," said Ibiki. "Those that do not wish to take it, raise your hand. Once your number is confirmed, leave."

I just grinned and waited for Naruto to give his speech. 'I'll back him up,' I thought.

There was a brief silence before the Konoha genin to Naruto's left stood up and raised his hands. More and more genin raised their hands, teams leaving the room with regret for their fear and doubt.

Eventually Naruto's trembling hand slowly rose off the desk.

'Here we go.'

(Cue song I'll Never Give Up! by WATABE Chieru from Prince of Tennis Original Soundtrack 1)

WHAM! Naruto's hand slammed down onto the table in front of him as he yelled, "Don't underestimate me! I will not run away from a stupid question! I'll take it! Even if I'm a Genin forever, I'll will myself to becoming Hokage anyway, so I don't care! I am not afraid!"

I grinned before shouting to him. "Yeah Naruto! You tell 'em. This is just like a mission. We can't avoid missions where the odds are stacked against us. We need to go ahead with courage and confidents that we will get the team through and finish the mission!"

"Yeah Aniki! We will survive this test and we will survive you." Naruto pointed at Ibiki.

"I'll ask you again. Your life is riding on this decision, this is your last chance to quit," said Ibiki quietly.

"**We will never take back our words. That is our 'Way of the Ninja'!"** we both said at the same time as we grinned at Ibiki.

'You won't conquer us Ibiki,' I thought to myself.

Ibiki glanced at the Chunin proctors. All the Chunin nodded slightly, small smiles appearing on their faces.

"Good decisions. Now to everyone still remaining," said Ibiki, causing the entire room to tense and gulp as they prepared to answer the last question, "I congratulate you on passing the first test!"

"Whoohoo!" I called out. The rest were all too stunned to speak. Sakura of course, found her voice first.

"What do you mean? We already pass? What about the tenth question?" she practically yelled.

Ibiki suddenly grinned, something that transformed his scarred face from a scary mask to a much nicer face. "There never was such a thing, or you can say that the choice you made was the tenth question," he said.

"Then what was the purpose of the first nine questions? They were pointless!" yelled Temari.

"No, the purpose of those nine questions was to test your individual information gathering abilities," said Ibiki, still smiling and looking slightly creepy with the scars on his face.

"Information gathering?" Temari asked. 'I guess she's a natural blond,' I thought before chuckling in my head.

"First, as the rules explained, success on this test is based on the whole team doing well. This puts pressure on each member not to mess things up for their team mates," said Ibiki.

"But the questions on this test were not the types that a mere genin could answer, with a few exceptions. Because of that, I'm sure most of you came to the same conclusion, that to score points you'd have to cheat. Basically the whole idea behind this test is to cheat. As cheating targets, we planted two chunins who knew all the answers in the crowd to help you out. Some of you might have noticed that there are eighty of you remaining, not possible since this exam is taken in groups of three," said Ibiki.

The two Chuunin stood up, one of them being the person I 'info gathered' off.

Ibiki now reached up to untie his forehead protector, which was being used as a bandana to cover the top of his head, as he said, "But those that cheat poorly fail of course," and removed his head covering. All the Genin gasped as they saw Ibiki's head was a mess of scars, burn, and holes. The special Jounin's eyes turned stern as he continued speaking, "Because, in times, information is more important than life, and on missions and the battlefield, people risk their lives to get their hands on it."

'Nasty. He got all that thanks to Aoi and the business with his own brother.' I concluded as I remembered the episodes just before Sasuke's defection to Sound.

Ibiki put his forehead protector back on as he said, "If the enemy or third party notices you, there is no guarantee the information you've risked your life for will be accurate. I want you all to remember this: important information in your hands can be a powerful weapon for your comrades and for the village. So we had you gather information through cheating. This clearly separated those that did not have the right abilities."

Temari's face still bore a look of confusion as she said, "But I still don't understand the final question," causing Ibiki to grin.

(Cue song Attou by Kimeru, Hisoca & Aozu from Prince of Tennis OST 3)

"But question ten was the true purpose of this test," said Ibiki. Seeing the room full of blank looks, the special Jounin sighed and said, "Let me explain. The tenth question, the 'Take it' or 'Not take it' descision, obviously these were painful choices. Those who chose the latter fail along with their team mates. Those that chose to take it could lose the chance to ever take the test again, a true leap of faith. How about these two choices, say you guys become Chunin. Your mission is to steal a secret document. The amount of ninja, their abilities, etc. is unknown to you. And of course there could be traps set all around you. Now do you accept or not accept? Because you don't want to die, because you don't want your comrades hurt, can you avoid the dangerous mission?" Here Ibiki glared at everyone before saying, "The answer is NO! No matter what the danger, there are missions you can't avoid. The ability to be courageous, and survive any hardship, this is the ability needed to become a Chunin captain. Those who can't put their destinies on the line, who cling to the uncertain future of 'there's always next year', and then walk away from their chance, those pieces of trash who can only make such cowardly choices, don't have the right to become a Chunin, that's how I feel!"

Ibiki then focused his gaze on Naruto and I, as did most of the room, before saying, "Those who chose to take it, answered the tenth question correctly. You will be able to survive any troubles you face in the future. You made it through the entrance, the first test of the Chunin Exam is now finished. I wish you guys luck."

I grinned. "You did a good job. As expected from Konoha's assassination squad, torture, and interrogation captain, Special Jounin Morino Ibiki."

Everyone gasped softly as they all realised that the first exam could have been a lot worse.

With a loud CRASH, a black blur shot through the window and unfurled itself in front of Ibiki. Two kunai shot into the ceiling, pulling two end of a large banner up as a woman in a khaki trench coat skidded to a stop. All the Genin were staring in shock, but I grinned. 'Oh boy, it's her.'

"You guys, this is no time to be celebrating!" yelled the woman. Now everyone could see that she was dressed in a fishnet body suit that left little to the imagination and a khaki wrap skirt around her waist. Metal shin guards covered her lower legs and her hair put up in a pineapple fashion like Shikamaru's. "I am the examiner for the second test! Mitarashi Anko! Now let's go!" yelled the woman before she punched the air and bellowed, "Now follow me!"

Ibiki reached around from behind the banner Anko had put up and said, "Bad timing," which caused Anko to frown slightly.

Anko looked around the room and frowned as she said, "Seventy nine? Ibiki, you left twenty six teams? You're getting sloppy! The test was way to easy this time!"

"This time, there are a lot of outstanding ones," said Ibiki, his eyes flicking to me for a second.

"Bah, I'll cut them at least in half in the next test." All the Genin froze at this comment, but before they could say anything, Anko continued, "I'll explain everything once we've changed places, follow me!" All the genin followed Anko, leaving Ibiki to pick up the tests.

I stayed behind. I walked up to Ibiki. He looked at me before smiling. "You must be Josh Ryu Kitsune. The Hokage has mentioned you a few times. What can I do for you?"

(Cue song Kakehiki by WATABE Chierul from Prince of Tennis Original Soundtrack 2)

"I believe that you need to keep tabs on Kabuto. He knows too much information." I said very seriously. Ibiki turned serious himself. "Why are you suspicious of him? He's a Konoha ninja."

"He has a deck of over 200 Nin-Info cards. Most of this is personal information. He had info on me as well. He knew the name of my sword which only myself, Naruto, Sarutobi, Zabuza, Haku, Meizu and Gozu know. He also has classified information such as the total ninja for each village competing in this Chuunin Exam. Only the Hokage and the examiners should have access to that type of info." I explained.

"Hmm, your right. That is fishy. I'll look into it. You should go catch up with your team." I nodded. "I'll let you know of any new info I learn." I said and turned to leave.

"Oh and Josh?" I looked back at Ibiki. He smiled. "You and Naruto would make great Chuunin." I smiled back. "Thanks." I said before Shunshining out of the classroom.


	15. Chapter 14: Starting the Second Exam

**Chapter 14: Starting the Second Exam**

(Cue song GLARE AT THE WORLD from Dynasty Warriors 6 OST)

"So this is the infamous 'Forrest of Death' Sure is impressive," I said to no-one in particular.

"This place is where the Second Exam will take place," said Anko in an ominous voice. "The 44th training area, AKA 'The Forrest of Death',"

We all stared at the training area in front of us. All the trees looked incredibly huge. A 40 foot long centipede crawled round one of the trunks.

Anko smirked as she said, "You'll soon find out why it's called the 'Forest of Death'."

"Whatever Anko, you won't scare me," I said loudly. Anko smiled at me. "Hmmm? Confident eh?" she said. However, that was a distraction as a kunai shot out of Anko's sleeve and into her hand before she threw it at me. I extended my hand and focused Ki energy into my hand. The kunai stopped millimetres away from cutting into my hand. I then grabbed the kunai and started twirling it around. I looked at Anko. She looked quite surprised that her trick had not worked.

"Care to try again?" I asked sweetly as I flicked her kunai back to her. She smiled but continued on.

"Okay, before we start there's something I have to pass out to everyone," said Anko as she held up a bunch of papers. "You must sign these agreement forms." Seeing everyone's confused looks, Anko smiled just like Kakashi did and said, "There will be deaths in this one, and if I don't get you guys to sign these, it will be my responsibility." Everyone stared at Anko with looks that clearly asked, 'Are you insane?'.

"I'm going to explain the second test, then you guys can sign these and check in at that booth behind me," said Anko as she handed Naruto the stack of forms. The blond shinobi took one and passed on the rest to me. I also took one and passed the rest to my team mates. Anko then held up a scroll that showed a small map of the Forest of Death. "Basically you will all attempt the ultimate survival. Around practice area forty four are exactly that number of locked gates. The Forest of Death is a perfect circle with a river flowing through it and a large tower in the centre. The distance from each of the gates to the tower is about fifteen kilometres. During the test in the forest, you will be asked to complete a certain task. Using your many weapons and jutsu, you will compete in a no hold, no rules, scroll battle!"

Anko held up two scrolls. One was white and had the kanji for heaven on it while the other was black and had the kanji for earth on it. "You will be fighting for these two scrolls, the heaven and earth. There are seventy eight people here, meaning twenty six teams. Half of the teams will get the heaven scroll, and the other thirteen will get the earth scroll. To pass this test, your team must make it to the tower with both scrolls."

"So thirteen teams will lose their scrolls, half of the teams will definitely lose," said Sakura.

Anko chuckled and said, "But there's a time limit. This test will take five days."

"Five days? What about dinner?" yelled Chouji.

"You're on your own. The forest is full of food. Just watch out for the man-eating beasts, poisonous insects, and poisonous plants. And thirteen teams passing is not likely. As the days go on, the distance to the goal will become farther, and the time to rest will become shorter. And the area is crawling with enemies, you won't get much sleep. So not only will some fail by losing the scroll, but some will die from the harshness of the course."

I sighed, thankful that I packed enough food for several days into my sealing scrolls.

"Now I'll talk about what will disqualify you. First those who don't make it to the tower, with both scrolls, within the time limit. Second, those who lose a team mate or those who have a team mate killed. As a rule, there is no quitting in the middle, you will be in the forest for the full five days. The third and most important rule is that you must never look inside the scroll until you make it to the tower."

"What happens if we do open them?" asked Sasuke.

The expression on Anko's face turned sadistic as she said, "That will be a surprise for anyone who does. A Chunin will be asked to handle classified information. This is to test your loyalty and trustworthiness. That is it for explanations. Exchange your team's three forms for your scroll, then choose a gate to get ready for the start. A final word of advice, don't die."

Each team split off from the main group and discussed the situation between them selves. I wrote down my signature on the form and went to stand with Naruto. "Aren't you glad I packed all that food now?" I said. Naruto nodded violently. Sasuke came over. "This will be an interesting five days," he commented. I nodded in agreement. "This will be tough, but we'll get through." Sakura was the last one to sign hers.

One of the Chuunin manning the scroll booth pulled a curtain up to cover the inside of the booth and said, "It's time to exchange for the scrolls."

We exchanged our forms for a Heaven scroll. Sasuke handed the scroll to me, saying that the squad leader should hold on to the scroll. I sealed the scroll into another scroll. We then waited for someone to take us to our gate entrance.

We were escorted to our gate by Izumo. The Chuunin did not say anything as we arrived at Gate Number 12.

"So what will we do Aniki?" asked Naruto.

"We should set up a base first. If anyone gets separated we'll have a place to regroup." I reasoned. My team mates nodded in agreement as we waited. I then remembered something. "Guys, there is a possibility that someone will try to impersonate us. We need forms unique to ourselves for us to identify. After we set up base we'll work that out."

Izumo then turned to us and grinned. "Good luck you four," he said. I nodded at him.

(Cue song nightshift by FORCE OF NATURE from Samurai Champloo OST - Impression)

There was a beeping sound and the gate in front of us opened. We settled into a pace perfect for scouting. After half an hour of jumping from tree branch to tree branch, Naruto signalled for a stop. "Sorry guys, but I've got to take a pit stop," he said with a blush. Sasuke smiled slightly, grabbing a kunai in case they were attacked. I smirked and quickly made a Kage Bunshin underground while Naruto disappeared behind some trees.

A few seconds later there was a yelp. I jumped over the bushes to see Naruto grinning at a Rain ninja who was buried up to his neck in the ground. I landed next to Naruto. "Nice job as the bait Naruto," I said. Naruto frowned slightly. "Aniki, next time you can be the bait," he whined. I laughed. "Ok, bro," I gave in. The ground split apart next to me and my clone jumped out. He handed me a Heaven Scroll. "Sir, it isn't the scroll you are looking for," I shook my head. "We'll take it anyways. If we come across one of our friends we can help them out," I said.

"Hey! Let me out!" yelled the Rain nin. I kicked him in the head to knock him out. "That's better. Man, I didn't think we would have been found so quickly." I turned to Sasuke. "Looks like we'll have to work out passwords now." Sasuke nodded. "My password will be Tsunami's son's name." I nodded as I sealed the second Heaven Scroll. I then looked at Sakura. "I'll recite the first verse of the Nin Song 'Ninki'."

"I'll show my new jutsu," said Naruto before quietly creating a perfect Rasengan. Sasuke and Sakura looked at it in awe before nodding.

"And as for me I'll do the same thing as when I scared the other Genins for the second time before the first exam. Do you remember?" I asked. Naruto nodded, knowing it was the effect of the flame Shunshin. Sasuke and Sakura also noticed me doing that. They nodded also. Naruto then flinched as a blade of grass struck him quickly, creating a small cut. "Itai, what was that?" he asked as he turned in the direction where the object came from.

(Cue song CRISIS by Junichi Nakatsuru from Soul Calibur III Original Soundtrack)

A loud rumbling suggested that something large was moving towards them. I turned to Naruto quickly. "Execute Protection Plan!" I yelled before we both flipped through the same set of seals.

"**Doton: Imperial Barricade no Jutsu!" **we both yelled out and slammed our hands into the ground. A wide section of the ground rose up in front of us. The wall was a few meters thick and spanned over ten meters long as well as several meters high. The wall was erected just in time for a great gust of wind slammed into it. After a few seconds the wall began to crack under the pressure. "Run you guys!" I yelled at Sasuke and Sakura. They complied as they jumped into the bushes. Another few seconds and the wall crumbled, sending us flying backwards.

After a few seconds of flying through branches I felt myself clear the tree tops. I quickly focused my chakra and called out, "I summon the Sylpheed!" The wings sprouted from my back and I slowed to a halt in midair. I looked back at the destruction left behind from the wind. 'Naruto will be fine. He has his sword with him and can easily track us down. But Sasuke and Sakura will face up against Orochimaru. I need to keep them alive until Naruto finds us.'

With the decision made I flew back down to find Sasuke and Sakura. As soon as I spotted the place where we were before I flew in low to see if snake man was there. This guy was not to be taken lightly.

-Third Person View-

(Cue song Tracer by Brian Tyler from Fast & Furious ~ Original Motion Picture Score)

While Josh was searching for his friends from above, Sasuke was hiding in the bushes, kunai in hand. He sensed something and quickly turned to face them. He came face to face with Sakura.

"Sakura?" he said.

"Sasuke-kun!" she said and ran to Sasuke. The boy went on guard. "Stay back! Say the password first!"

"O-okay. 'It is a good chance when a large amount of enemies are making a scene. There are ho hideouts even in a quiet place. It is important for a ninja to know the right time. The time when the enemy is tired, and has his guard down'," recited Sakura. Sasuke relaxed his guard. "Okay," he said before hearing another sound from the bushes.

"Itai…" came Naruto's voice as he stumbled out of the bushes. "Hey, everyone, are you ok?" he asked.

"Naruto, wait a minute! The password!" said Sakura.

"I know. 'It is a good chance when a large amount of enemies are making a scene. There are ho hideouts even in a quiet place. It is important for a ninja to know the right time. The time when the enemy is tired, and has his guard down'," he said while smiling. Sasuke smirked back, before throwing the kunai. Naruto narrowly missed it and collapsed on the ground. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"We don't have Josh or Naruto around this time but we can take them!" said Sasuke.

"Yeah! We can do it!" agreed Sakura as the two readied more kunai. "Show your real self, faker!" said Sasuke.

(Cue song Sephiroth's Wake by Tweek from Voices of the Lifestream - Disk 2: Dirge downloaded from )

'Naruto' smirked in a snaky way. "I see," he said before a huge cloud of smoke erupted around him as the chakra was released, suggesting the faker was under a double or even a triple layer Henge. From the smoke a voice sounded. "Kukukukukuku, impressive, you figured it out. But then one of you is the heir of one of the strongest clans in Konoha." When the smoke dispersed, Sakura and Sasuke were facing one of the Grass shinobi. "This will be more fun than I thought," said the man as he removed his straw hat and revealed a disgustingly long tongue.

The long tongued man held out an earth scroll as he said, "You want my earth scroll, right? Since you guys have the heaven scroll." Before Sakura or Sasuke could say anything, the man took the scroll and swallowed it! Sakura immediately felt like throwing up, while Sasuke's face paled. "Now let's begin the battle for each other's scroll," said the Grass shinobi as he reached up to his face before he pulled his skin down to reveal a yellow snake eye. "With our lives on the line!" Sasuke and Sakura both felt pain shooting through their bodies. Blood spurted out of Sasuke; a high pitched howling sound ringing through his ears. Then he stumbled back as he coped a kunai in the head. Then nothing.

He gasped and fell to his knees, he could have sworn the kunai went through his forehead, but something was off. 'Genjutsu?' thought Sasuke before he collapsed to his knees and threw up. 'No, this is just fear, the killing intent in his eyes is causing us to see an image of death. Who is this guy?'

He moved his eyes slowly to where Sakura was. "Sakura?" he croaked out. His eyes widened. Sakura was shaking violently, staring at the man with tears pouring out of her eyes.

'This is bad, we need to get away! Otherwise… only…' Sasuke turned to face the man. '…death awaits us.'

The snaky man laughed. "You can't move already?"

'He's going to kill us!' thought Sasuke and for the first time in six years he felt fear. Pure, unaltered fear.

'Move! Move! Move! Move!' willed Sasuke. His hand slowly started to move to his kunai holster. 'Move! Move! Move!' His hand got closer. 'Move! Move!' He drew his kunai his whole arm shaking. He slowly got to his feet. 'I don't care if I can only move a little bit… Move!'

"What are you going to do with that?" asked the man in a bored voice as he unleashed more killer intent.

Sasuke froze. 'I can't move! I can't move at all!' The man drew two kunai. "Relax, I will end it in a flash. You won't have time to suffer." He raised the kunai above his head. "I wanted to have a little more fun, but now I'm disappointed." And with that he casually flicked the kunai in their direction. Sasuke's eyes widened as he watched the kunai get closer and closer to him.

(Cue song Organization XIII by Yoko Shimomura from Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete - Disc 3 ~ Kingdom Hearts II)

Suddenly a white blur shot out of the sky and landed next to the two Genin. A pair of giant white and grey wings shielded the two from the Kunai. The being grabbed Sasuke's and Sakura's collars. He then turned and the man saw two blue eyes glowing with an unholy rage. He was then bombarded with killing intent almost equal to his own. The person then flew away quickly leaving the snake man to wonder what just happened.

-Normal POV-

'That was close,' I panted as I placed the two down. Sakura was still in shock and Sasuke was able to look at me. "Josh? Is that really you?" I smiled. "Yeah. It's me Sasuke. Be still for a moment," I said. I placed my hand to Sasuke's arm and charged him with a bit of chakra. His body relaxed. I then repeated the process on Sakura. After the two had regained their breath I performed the Flame Shunshin without moving. The two nodded their heads.

"He'll find us soon so I need to know if you guys are alright. Nothing hurt or anything?" I asked. They both shook their heads. "Josh, do you know that guy?" Sasuke asked. "I have a suspicion but I won't know unless he sends a snake after us." I said quietly. Sakura then gasped in fear as she pointed behind me. "Josh, look out! It's a snake!" I whipped around and grabbed Sasuke and Sakura. I flew up into the air and looked down. A huge snake looked up at me. I deposited the two Genin and faced the snake. I placed my hands behind me and powered up my attack. "Kamehameha!" I shot the attack straight at the snake. The reptile was blown back and it collided with a tree with a large gapping hole through its head. I hovered there, waiting.

Eventually a crack appeared in the skin further down the body. Something was pushing itself out. "That was an interesting attack," said the man as he pushed himself out fully. "How do you do it?"

"You think I'm going to answer that to you Orochimaru!" I yelled at him. The Hebi Sannin opened his eyes in surprise before he smirked. "Ohh? How did you find out?" he asked.

"You're the genius, you figure it out!" I retorted.

Orochimaru chuckled. "I'm also interested to know how you gained those wings but it seems that you won't tell me. No matter. So now that you know who I am, what will you do?" he asked.

(Cue song Krillin Powers Up by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of DragonBall Z, Vol. VI - The Lost Tracks of DBZ)

"Well since I can't use Soul Calibur to send your ass to the next world, I'll have to do something different." I then straightened my arms out to the side and focused my chakra to each hand. I waited until I had the right amount before opening my hands. "I summon the Flare Trigger…" a red glow appeared in my right hand. "…and the Glacier Trigger!!" an ice blue glow appeared in my left hand. The glows intensified until it looked like I was holding two bright lights. Then the glows faded and what was left stunned everyone.

I was holding two hand guns. Both were of the same design, looking like The Jackal gun from Hellsing. The one in my right hand was a fiery red, with an etching of a flame and my clan crest that blazed brightly in orange. The one in my left looked like it was made out of ice, with the clan crest and an etching of a snowflake that shone an icy blue.

Orochimaru looked stumped. So did Sasuke and Sakura. It seemed that they had never seen a gun before. 'Well they are about to get a little demonstration.' I thought as I grinned and pointed them both at Orochimaru.


	16. Chapter 15: The Awakening

**Chapter 15: The Awakening**

(Cue Song Queen's Harbor from Tekken 6 ~ Bloodline Rebellion Original SoundTrack)

I fired a shot from the Flare Trigger first. There was almost no recoil as a bright red streak shot out the gun. The bullet left a line of fire behind as it sped to Orochimaru. His eyes widened before he slithered out of the way quickly. The bullet struck through the snake where he had been and an explosion of fire spread out. When the fire cleared away there was big hole lined with fire. Orochimaru looked at me with interest. I grinned and shot a bullet from the Glacier Trigger. A white and blue streak shot at the Sannin. Again he got out of the way. The bullet impacted on the tree and lots of steam rose out. Again there was a big hole in the tree and around the hole the surface was covered in a thick sheet of ice. The tree toppled over, unable to stay upright.

'Time to kick this up to the next level,' I thought as I flicked a switch on each of the guns. I then pulled the triggers on both guns and a storm of fire and ice bullets rained down on Orochimaru. Bullets punched through the wood and air. Orochimaru was dodging at high speed as he tried to get away from the bullets. I soon lost sight of the snake as smoke and mist from the impacts rose up. I kept still, waiting. All of a sudden a white blade of wind flew at me. I barrel rolled to the side, the wings getting out of the way just in time. More wind blades flew at me. I aimed and fired bullets to disrupt them. The wind blades shattered as the bullets made contact. Showers of sparks and splinters of ice rained over the battlefield. The smoke cleared and I saw Orochimaru standing there with his sword 'Grass Cutter'.

"Kukukukukuku, very impressive. Your skills are high indeed. And those instruments you hold are very unique," he said. I smirked at him. "Well I would have to be skilled if I could get you to use your legendary sword, the Kusanagi."

"Well as much as I am enjoying this I came here to do something so if you'll excuse me," he smirked as he made a seal. His neck extended up and out towards Sasuke. 'Crap!' I released my gravity seal and sped to Sasuke, trying to get there before Orochimaru could impart the Cursed Seal on him.

-Third Person View-

Orochimaru raced toward Sasuke. He smiled in a very evil way. 'Now I can claim the Sharingan for my own!' he thought as he opened his mouth in preparation for the Cursed Seal. He was just about there when Josh appeared in front of Sasuke and shoved the Flare Trigger into Orochimaru's mouth. His eyes widened as Josh sneered and said "Bite on this bitch!" before he pulled the trigger. Orochimaru's head exploded into fire and blasted out away from Josh. The body that was left behind stiffened before turning into brown sludge. "Shit! A Mud Clone!" swore Josh. He turned to the boy behind him. "Sasuke! If you spot him, tell me. Ok?" He said it with such urgency that Sasuke just nodded. Josh and Sasuke went back to back, trying to find the snake. They slowly turned in a circle. 'C'mon, Snake! Where are you?' thought Josh as he scanned around for any sign. Suddenly Josh spotted him walking out of the trees. A gasp from Sasuke told him that he had seen something on his side as well. A third and forth clone followed the first out. Josh turned slightly. "Sasuke, you take one and I'll take the others. They are after you, Sasuke so make sure that he doesn't gain the upper hand. And don't let him bite you," he whispered to the raven haired boy. Sasuke nodded before they both launched themselves at there respective targets.

-Normal POV-

Taking on three Orochimaru's, even thought they were clones, wasn't as big of a hassle as I thought because my weights were off. The three seemed to throw everything at me. Mainly Katon jutsus and taijutsu though. I fought well, killing them all with bullets in the head. I looked to see Sasuke taking on his own Snake quite well. I decided to stay out of his battle and would step in if he tried anything sneaky.

-Third Person View-

(Cue Song Don't Be a Hero by Motoi Sakuraba from Star Ocean -The Last Hope- Original Soundtrack)

Sasuke held four kunai in his right hand, one kunai in his mouth, and a larger than normal shuriken shaped like a solid fuuma shuriken. The Uchiha boy leapt into the air and hurled the four kunai at Orochimaru, who darted around the projectiles like a snake. Sasuke grabbed a nearby tree to stop his movement. 'I can see him!' he thought as the comma marks spun around. Sasuke hurled the large shuriken at Orochimaru, who jumped over it. Sasuke swung around so his back was to the tree and grabbed the kunai in his mouth and sent chakra into it before throwing it towards Orochimaru. The snake man dodged the obvious attack, but was inwardly impressed.

'Not bad, he's reading my movements and going for a critical hit. So he can see me,' thought Orochimaru.

Sasuke clamped his teeth down on a string and braced his arms against the tree. The large shuriken behind Orochimaru suddenly halted in mid air as the string through the center hole stopped it from moving.

'String?' asked Orochimaru mentally as he saw the string connected to the kunai was looped around the tree behind Sasuke and curved around behind him before ending at the bit Sasuke had clenched in his mouth. Orochimaru looked behind himself to see the large shuriken heading back towards him. "This is Sofuushasen no Tachi (Windmill Triple Blade)!" The large shuriken shot towards Orochimaru, but the impact was blocked from view because he had the back of his head facing Sasuke.

Josh whistled as Orochimaru turned around, revealing he had caught the shuriken in his mouth. 'To read all the places I could run and attack from where I can't see,' thought the snake summoner before chuckling. "Hehe, too bad," he said.

"Heh," grunted Sasuke as he formed the tiger seal with the string from his mouth held between the two upright fingers. 'Katon: Ryuuka (Dragon Fire) no jutsu!' A stream of fire shot along the string at set Orochimaru's face and head on fire. Both Sasuke and Sakura stared, hoping the fight was finally over. However Josh knew better.

"To be able to use the Sharingan so well at this age, you truly are the man that carries the Uchiha blood," said Orochimaru, his head facing the ground. The snake man raised his head, revealing that part of his face appeared to be melted off, allowing them to see a second skin beneath it. Sasuke and Sakura gasped as they saw the same yellow snake eye from earlier staring at them. "Just as I thought, I want you," he said.

-Normal POV-

Seeing what Orochimaru was going to do I prepared to fly at him again but I felt someone slap something on my back. Suddenly I couldn't move. Another clone walked into my vision and held up one of my paralysing seals. I felt shock and confusion wash over me as I was torn between wondering how he got my seals out of my pocket and what was going to happen to Sasuke. 'Burning through the seal will take too much time!' I thought as I began to gather Ki energy to burn through the seal.

Looking down I saw Orochimaru's neck suddenly stretched and became long and flexible as his head shot towards the two Konoha Genin with his mouth wide open. 'Crap!' The Uchiha boy had collapsed after pumping all his chakra into the technique and wasn't able to move out of the way.

(Cue song BEFORE THE STORM from Dynasty Warriors 6 OST)

A red blur shot in front of Sasuke and smashed into Orochimaru, preventing him from giving Sasuke the cursed seal. The Sannin flew straight at a tree and smashed againsed the trunk. I squinted my eyes to see that it was Naruto in the one-tailed state. Concentrating with all my might I focused my gathered Ki energy into the seal to overload it. A few seconds later I succeeded and shot the clone through the head. I flew down to where Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were. I landed next to Naruto and looked at him. He seemed to be handling Kyuubi's chakra well. The chakra tail waved calmly though every now and then it would twitch in agitation.

"Where have you been?" I asked. He turned to me with an apologetic expression on his face. _"Sorry but I got held up by a giant summoned snake,"_ he said in a lower and growlier voice. He seemed to stare off into space for a few seconds before focusing back on me. _"Kyuubi says that she wants to see you sometime soon,"_ he whispered so the others wouldn't pick up on the Kyuubi bit.

I blushed, remembering the kiss on the cheek. Her lips had been so soft. 'Ugh! Mind out of the gutter Josh!' I thought as I shook myself mentally. I looked at Orochimaru who was getting up out of the tree. 'What's my strategy now?' I had an idea and turned to Naruto. "Naruto, can you distract him long enough for me to charge up a strong Kamehameha Wave?" I asked. He smiled, showing off his long fangs and gave me the thumbs up. _"You got it Aniki!"_ He then sped off in the direction of the snake Sannin.

-Third Person view-

(Cue Song Encounter by Takeharu Ishimoto from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack)

As Josh started charging up the Kamehameha Wave, Naruto charged Orochimaru at incredible speeds. Looking like a red streak he slammed into Orochimaru. Huge masses of dust was kicked up and when it settled the two were in an intense taijutsu match.

Naruto jumped into the air and swept his hand around, creating a red wave of pure chakra that was sent at Orochimaru. This wave was followed with three more to keep the Sannin on his toes. As he was busy dodging them Naruto pressed his hands againsed the ground. Two huge red fists of Kyuubi's chakra exploded out from underneath Orochimaru. The Sannin flipped away as the red chakra hands flew at him. He seemed to have his work cut out as he dodged the hands. Naruto released the jutsu and sped once again at the Snake man. He slammed his chakra enhanced fist into the man and teleported behind him. He punched him again. He repeated this sequence several times before smashing him toward the ground. He extended the chakra hand and grabbed the Sannin before whipping him back. As he got closer he punched him into the air. He brought his right hand to the side and charged up a Rasengan. But this was no ordinary Rasengan. For one it was completely made of Kyuubi's chakra, making the colour absolutely red. And secondly was that this Rasengan was three times the size of the original. Naruto jumped toward Orochimaru and brought his hand back, ready to pummel it into the Sannin.

"_VERMILLION RASENGAN!"_ he yelled as he thrusted the red swirling mass of energy into Orochimaru. His body was engulfed in a sphere of bright light with a very thick halo of red light. The red light contracted into the white sphere and red energy fired out of the opposite end of the sphere to where Naruto was. The sphere of energy slammed into the ground creating a huge dome of energy which expanded quickly to the size of a small building. The energy faded to reveal what Naruto had not expected.

A puddle of boiling mud.

(Cue Song Cell Returns by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. IV)

Naruto's red eyes widened in shock as an eruption of earth happed below him and Orochimaru shot out of the ground and straight for Naruto. Orochimaru flashed to Naruto and kneed him hard in the stomach, paralysing him.

Orochimaru smirked. "I've had fun playing with you, but I have things to do." Orochimaru used that disgustingly long tongue and lifted Naruto's shirt to reveal the seal. He spread his hand out and his fingertips were covered in his purple chakra. The kanji symbols for the five main elements appeared in the chakra; one element for each finger. Orochimaru reared back his hand and then thrusted said hand into the seal shouting "Five-Element Seal!"

"NARUTO!" screamed Josh in fear as he lost his focus on the attack. The energy between his hands dissipated quickly.

Naruto's eyes widened as pain exploded throughout him. Orochimaru released his hand from Naruto's stomach revealing the Five-Element seal around the Shiki Fuujin, binding it. Naruto's eye colour flickered between red and blue before settling on his normal iris colour. He collapsed instantly, unconscious.

-Normal POV-

I started shaking in anger. 'I know he will survive this but you won't get away unscathed!' I resolved. I pulled out the two guns and pointed them at him. I saw Orochimaru look at me before he was suddenly in my face. He smirked before the hardest punch I had ever felt connected with my stomach. My whole body felt the pain. It was excruciating. I doubled over, coughing hard. I fell to the ground and the last thing I saw before I blacked out was the guns and wings dispersing into strands of red, light blue and grey coloured energy.

(Cue Song Time Chamber by Bruce Faulconer from Dragonball Z: Trunks Compendium 1)

I opened my eyes to see nothing but white. At first it was glaring but after blinking a few times I got used to the brightness. I tried to get up only to realise that I was floating in the white void. I turned my head to try and find something else that wasn't white.

"Hello!" I called out. There wasn't even an echo.

"Well, he's here earlier than I expected,"said a kind, feminine voice that I had never heard before but at the same time recognised.

"Who's there?" I said, spinning around, only to be faced with nothing. Just more open expanses of white.

"**Not for me. He's right on time,"** came another voice that was distorted. Again, the second voice was foreign to me but I felt as if I knew the voice all along.

"Show yourself!" I continued to say as I turned this way and that, trying to find where the voices were coming from.

"**Behind you!"**__both voices said together and I swivelled behind again. This time I saw two clouds float in front of me. One was a shimmering, calm sky blue and the other was black with a bright red outline. Both clouds floated towards me until they were within reach. The clouds then condensed into human shapes. The blue one formed into a beautiful woman with sky blue hair and matching clothes. Her irises were also blue. Swaying slowly behind her were nine sapphire blue dragon tails.

The black cloud formed into a man with long spikes of red hair (AN: Think Goku's hair in Super Sayian 3 from Dragon Ball Z). He was very muscular. On top of his head were two black fox ears that were tipped in red. He was dressed in a black Hakama with red trim. The irises of his eyes were ruby red, like Kyuubi's, only without the slitted pupils. Nine black fox tails with red streaks waved softly behind him. He had three inch claws attached to each finger.

"Who are you?" I asked in wonder.

The woman smiled. "Explanations will have to wait until later I'm afraid," she said. The 'buff as hell' man continued on though. **"But we can tell you our names." **He placed his clawed hand onto his chest and smiled, showing off his long canines. **"My name is ****Kagu****."**

"And mine is Marisha," said the woman. "And now, you must go back. Your friends need you."

The two beings changed into red and blue energy clouds and wrapped around me, sinking into my body. I felt myself being flung backwards and then everything went dark again.

-Outside in Third Person View-

(Cue Song Cell Theme by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. IV)

Josh being knocked out seemed to be the cue Sasuke needed as he got up shakily and tried to walk over to Josh. Only to stop again. _'What the! I can't even move now!'_ He forced his head to turn and look toward Orochimaru's hands. Sure enough they'd been put in another hand-seal.

"Kanashibari no Jutsu. I won't have you struggling like before. After all, you're my prize." Hissed the elevated head of Orochimaru. Sasuke could then only scream silently as Orochimaru sped forward and sunk his fangs into Sasuke's left shoulder. When he finally pulled away, Sasuke finally found his voice as he too started screaming. "There. You will seek me out, Sasuke. If you survive this, of course." A black mark appeared near where Orochimaru had bitten. It formed into three tomoe that circled each other.

Sakura was shaken out of her fear as Sasuke's scream throttled violently into her ears. She jumped over to where the boys were and found Josh and Naruto knocked out with Sasuke convulsing slightly, out cold, laying face down on their branch.

While across from them stood who looked to be the Kusa kunoichi who was staring right at her but her face was different, it was more, masculine. The Kusa kunoichi's hitai-ite had also changed, for some reason it had a sound emblem on it now. "What did you do to Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried out as she prepared herself to leap from her branch.

"Me? I just gave him a little parting gift." Orochimaru replied as he looked to the twitching gennin. He started chuckling but stopped as an explosion of incredible heat blasted into him. He turned to look and felt something he had not felt for a great amount of time. Fear.

(Cue song Indestructible by Disturbed)

A large sphere of white flames was floating roughly one meter in the air. Blue and red flames flickered around the burning sphere every now and then. After a few minutes the scorching flames died down and out stepped Josh from the inside. Almost everything had changed about him.

First was his hair. It was still white but it had lengthened considerably, reaching down to his knees. It was also pushed backwards in thick spikes, giving the impression that he had a lion's mane gelled up and back. Through the intense hair were streaks of fiery blue and red. He had also buffed up significantly. His clothes were different. No longer was he wearing the black outfit with the white overcoat. Now he wore a sleeveless white vest with a thick blue trim. His black cargos were replaced with white jeans with two red stripes running down on each side from the waist to the ends. His combat boots were gone and in its place was a pair of white biker boots with red and blue flames running round the edges. With no sleaves to hide his arms everyone could see a masterful tattoo on each arm. On his left was a shimmering blue nine-tailed dragon. On the right was a black and red nine-tailed fox. Each tattoo looked so well done that they looked like they would come alive at any moment. Across his well defined chest was some sort of blue armour that looked like small scales. Coming out of his back were a pair of huge pure white angle wings. Red, blue and white strands of fiery energy were spiralling around him in a triple-helix. And in his right hand was the most kick ass sword you had ever seen. Its shape was unique as it had what looked like nine black fox tails as the blade itself. Each tail was shaped so that it still looked like a sword; most were overlapping themselves. The black metal looked like there was some sort of fire inside it as the energy inside flickered and pulsed. The handle was long so the wielder could twist the blade quickly. At the end was a gold fox head. Its eyes had bright rubies in them. The grip around the handle looked like it was made for intense use while still retaining a comfortable feel. The sword also constantly discharged red electricity. But the most noticeable change was the power he was outputting. So big it was that any Kage would start praying either in thanks that he was an ally or in forgiveness because he was about to obliterate them.

He raised his still blue eyes to Orochimaru and raised the sword into the air, the end pointing skywards. The steal tails started to move. Each tail untangled itself until all the tails were straight and pointing outward. The sword looked like a bunch of spears, spread out just enough so they weren't touching each other. Josh then said two words. He didn't shout them but both Sakura and Orochimaru heard them.

"Steal Crucifixion."

All of the 'tails' detached themselves from the hilt and shot into the air. They sped higher and higher until they reached the upper atmosphere. Then they turned 180 degrees and plummeted towards the earth, heading straight for Orochimaru. While they simply passed through them before, now they split the clouds, creating a giant hole where the evening sunlight streamed through, illumininating the forest in an orangey glow.

The tails slammed into Orochimaru with a sickening crunch, a tail through his feet, knees, arms, stomach, head and heart. What was left of Orochimaru's head had a look of pure horror engraved on it. After a few more seconds of seeing this crucified man a cloud of smoke enveloped him, leaving behind a destroyed log, suggesting that at the last nanosecond he pulled a Kawarimi. But he didn't get away unscathed as the blood on the wood and metal was real.

The tails freed themselves from the branch they buried themselves into and returned to the hilt and handle, moving back into their original position. The sword was surrounded by flames and black smoke rose out of the fire as the blood was burned off the blade. The power coming out of Josh died down and his whole body shimmered. When that too faded, Josh was standing there, his old clothes back, hair back to normal as well as his physique. But if you looked closely, you could see the heads of the two beasts poking out of his sleaves. Josh then closed his eyes and fell back in blissful unconsciousness.

(AN: It's now time for my first Omake piece.)

**Omake Piece: What's with the song?**

He raised his still blue eyes to Orochimaru and raised the sword into the air, the end pointing skywards. Then he paused, a contemplating look on his face. "I know I look so incredibly bad ass, but there's still something missing… Ah! I know!"

Josh then fumbled in the pockets of his new white vest and brought out his iPod. He then started looking for a certain song. Meanwhile Sakura and Orochimaru were looking at him, wondering what the hell he was doing. Josh then smiled. "Found you," he mumbled to himself and pressed the play button.

(Insert song: SSJ3 Power Up (American Ver.) by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. IV)

"Ah, yes. That's better," said Josh, a happy smile on his face. He then looked at Orochimaru. "Now, where were we?"


	17. Major Notice!

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!**

Guys, there's no easy way to say this so I'll just say it. **Soul of Fire** for me is going nowhere. I've been working on a third Naruto FanFiction which is just bursting with ideas. This fic is going to be uploaded soon. It is likely that this fic, as well as the Pokémon and the first Naruto fic are going to be the three central fics that I work on, with a few side fics that have yet to get fully off the ground. Along with me trying to write my own original work, there is just no time to continue with **Soul of Fire**.

But the main reason that **Soul of Fire** is a doomed project is that I have ideas that will keep the story up until the end of the Sound/Sand invasion before going completely dead. I just have no idea where the story is going from there, other than the usual cannon direction. I still have another 5 chapters that I have written on the story so I'm going to give you an offer.

If you want to take the story into your own hands then I will post the remaining chapters and give the author who wants to continue my work my ideas for the story, a list of new jutsu I was planning on using in the story as well as the full list of summons that my character can use. I would love it if the author will continue along my scripted path at least until the end of this book which I placed it at the end of the Sound/Sand invasion but it's up to you.

If you are interested in continuing my work then PM me and I'll send you the remaining materials to do what you will with it. I only ask that you find some way for my character to be with Kyuubi and that you keep my OC's name to what it is, however it is up to you.

You have until the end of next month, October, to give me an answer. Send your ideas along in case more than one decide to take matters into their own hands. I'll choose the idea that most closely fits my style. It's a shame that this story didn't get as many reviews as I would of liked but that's life.

So I'll repeat in case you didn't catch what I said before. If you want the story then you can have it to continue the story. Send your answer and ideas via PM and I'll pick the author I like the most.

If, however, no-one decides to come forward then I will remove the story from archives. The story will be dead until such time that it may be reborn, however that could be years down the track since these three stories that I'm working one will be titans in terms of length. But personally, I would rather someone adopted this child since it hasn't had a chance to grow much. See that's how crazy I am. Comparing my stories to kids.

So give me a line, or not at all. The future of this story depends on you, the readers.

Signed

Josh Ryu Kitsune - aka White Kyuubi

Naruto: So, is this the end for Soul of Fire?

Josh: Don't know. Boss is going on to bigger and brighter projects so he's hoping we get chosen for someone new.

Kyuubi: It's sad, but it's the way it is.

Sasuke: Let's hope it isn't the end. I still have to kill my brother!

Josh rolls his eyes.

Kakashi: Well if the stories kaput then I'm outta here.

Naruto: Ok Kakashi-sensei.

Josh: Yeah, go read your porn. It's only the future of Soul of Fire that hangs in the balance!

Kyuubi: Hey! I heard a rumour. Seems that the name of the story that the Boss has been working on is really something! Going to be completely new and unheard of!

Josh: Hey! I heard that too!

Naruto: Am I going to be in it?

Josh: Apparently no, you're not. At least, not much.

Naruto: But! Boss just said that it was a new Naruto story he was working on! How come I'm not the main character in it!

Kyuubi: Something about fusion. I'm not sure.

Naruto: Fusion?

Josh: Yeah, don't know the specifics about it.

Kyuubi: Well I guess we'll see soon.

Josh: I also heard that it's going to be more funnier that Soul of Fire. There's also a small harem in it.

Kyuubi: Did you find out what it was called?

Josh: I think it was called 'The Nine Tailed Celestial Hero'.


	18. Chapter 16: The Ancient Heritage

**Chapter 16: The Ancient Heritage**

(Cue Song Home, Pt. II by Armand Amar from Home (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Deluxe Version])

I opened my eyes only to see that I was back in the white void. 'Great, I pass out from an overload of power. I wonder if… what were their names again? …Kagu and Marisha,' I mused in my head. Looking around I realised that I was standing this time. Like the whiteness underneath me was solid. I started walking around.

"Kagu! Marisha! Where are you?" I called into the bright void.

"**Ah, good. You're back,"** said the masculine voice that seemed to command a fair amount of power. I whipped around to see the fox man and dragon lady sitting in, of all things, recliners. 'Where did they get things like that?' I wondered. I noticed that there was an extra seat. Marisha gestured to this seat. "Come, sit," she said in a gentle tone. I complied, though wearily. I still had no idea who these people were. As soon as I sat down I looked at them both. They seemed slightly nervous.

"Well?" I finally said. "What's the deal?"

Kagu leaned forward slightly. **"Well my full name is Kagutsuchi and I'm the God of Fire and General to ****Amaterasu****."** Somehow I wasn't surprised. "And my full name is Marisha-Ten, the Goddess of the Moon. I'm also known as the Queen of Heaven," said Marisha.

"Amaterasu… I know that name somewhere?" I thought out loud.

"**She is the Goddess of the Sun and Creator of All,"** supplied Kagu. **"You know her as Sophie."**

"Really? That's interesting. I guess that she doesn't like traditional names much," I mused. "Wait a minute, that's the name of one of the three jutsus used with the Mangekyou Sharingan."

Marisha nodded. "Yes, but that is merely a bastardization of her. If anything, it should be named after Amaterasu's brother, Amatsu Mikaboshi, God of Evil," she said heatedly.

"So what do you two have to do with me?"

"**Well, 10,000 years ago I was serving as Sophie's general. Amatsu Mikaboshi was trying to conquer Heaven again only this time he had teamed up with the Greek god Hades of the Underworld. We had just won a victory that had turned the tide of battle in our favour and we were celebrating. That was the first time I met Marisha," **said Kagu with a small dreamy smile.

"Gods and Goddess' are not immortal, except for Amaterasu herself. So we appoint new Gods and Goddess' after 5000 years or so. My term had just started so the two of us had never met before the party. It was my job to supervise the going ons in Heaven. Like being a co-manager to a company and Sophie was the CEO," explained Marisha. I nodded to show them I was following.

"Well when we met, you could say that we fell in love at first sight," continued Marisha as she reached over and placed her hand on Kagu's. He smiled and told his side of the story. **"When I met her I was quite nervous. At first I thought there was something wrong with me; I was supposed to be the God of Fire."**

Even though I wanted to know their history I realised that I might wake up soon. So I coughed politely and asked, "I'm sorry but could cut to the chase?"

"Sorry, we tend to talk on a bit and we haven't had anyone new to speak with recently," apologised the dragon lady. "Well, we eventually married each other and had a son. He lived on earth for the remainder of his life. Since then the family line has dulled as other people were married into the family and our blood got weaker and weaker. But several hundred years ago there was a prophecy made. Now true prophecies are extremely rare so it was considered a great honour to have one about yourself."

"**It said 'The child of the 100****th**** generation of the clan started by the first son from the union of Fire and Moon will wield the power of the ancient Heavenly Flame'. This power is said to be the original fire from Amaterasu herself. Josh… you are the child of the one hundredth generation."**

I was speechless. I didn't know that such a power slept within me; that I was actually related to these two; that they were literally, my ancestors. "So that power was…"

"**Well actually you were using our powers. The sword was from me and the armour was from Mari. Since you don't know how to harness your power yet you used the powers that came from activating our blood that runs through your veins. Like a bloodline limit. By the way, you did very well on your first try,"** congratulated Kagu.

"But he got away…" I mumbled.

"**And yet you wounded him. It's not bad for a start."**

"So the white flames I saw when I woke up were…"

"Yes, that was the Heavenly Fire," finished Marisha.

I was silent for a few minutes trying to understand this and let the new info sink in. Kagu broke the silence. **"You need to get back to looking after your team mates."**

"To use our powers when you need them, just call out our names and we'll hear you. Ask Sophie for help in your training with the white fire," said Marisha.

I looked at them both. They didn't act like gods. If anything, they acted like cool and young grandparents. It made me think of my mum and dad. They were always kind and gentle. Made you feel welcome in their world. That was how I felt when talking to Kagu and Marisha.

"**Activating your ancient bloodline broke a barrier that was preventing us from communicating with you before. If you need to talk to us then just speak in your mind to us,"** offered Kagu. I smiled at them. "Thanks guys," I said before letting myself relax as I floated back to the physical world.

-Physical word, Normal POV-

I woke to the sounds of a fight going on outside.

"Secondary Lotus!"

'That sounded like Lee,' I thought as I surveyed the area around me. I was lying next to Naruto and Sasuke. Small traces of corrupted chakra was rising out of Sasuke. I fumbled in my coat pocket and closed my hand around the last suppression seal that I had made. Quietly slipping it on Sasuke I watched as the evil chakra slowly died down. 'It won't last long,' I realised. I had to work fast. Looking out into the clearing I saw Lee up against the Sound team. Lee just used his forbidden move against Dozu, the team leader.

However, the other Sound-nin, Zaku, managed to save his teammate by creating a sort of wind cushion in the place of impact. "What a terrifying technique," Dozu said. "But now it's my turn." I realised that now it was time to do something. Making sure my weights were released I jumped out and kicked him in the stomach. He was sent tumbling back and was caught by his teammate. "Who the hell?" the Sound-nin looked up and spotted me in front of Lee.

"Josh-kun!" said Lee in relief and confusion. I turned and gave him the thumbs up. He smiled and struggled to his feet but I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"No Lee, you stay out of this one. Get your strength back," I said gently. He looked like he was about to protest but then stopped when I looked at him sternly. He nodded and sat down. I turned to Sakura, whose hair was roughly cut to neck length. "Tend to him," I said simply. She nodded made her way over to Lee. I turned to the Sound team.

(Cue song Qiu Mansion by Jay Arr from Position Music - Production Music Series Vol. 55 - Epic Hip-Hop. Download from /)

"Well, well. Looks like I'll have to deal with you," I smirked and concentrated my chakra. I flung my hand into the air and called out, "I summon Quezacotl!" A thin beam of light shot out of my hand and ascended straight into the sky. Almost immediately dark storm clouds rolled in and started swirling around, with blue lightning sparking quickly throughout the clouds. The storm must've stretched over the entire forest.

-At the Tower, Third POV-

The Hokage, Anko, and several other Jounin were staring transfixed at the storm that just appeared out of no-where.

"What's going on? Who's doing that?" asked Anko, awed at the sight.

"It's Josh," answered Sarutobi.

"What? Really?" exclaimed the serpentine woman. The Hokage nodded. "It seems he is far more powerful than I first realised."

Juts then, a humongous lightning bolt shot out of the middle of the storm and slammed into the ground, illuminating the now dark forest for several seconds before the light died down.

-Back with Josh, Normal POV-

After the giant lightning bolt from the storm cleared away, a swirling mass of blue and green energy spun around above me. It stopped spinning and spread out in the shape of a large, magnificent, bird.

Quezacotl was nothing like the GF from Final Fantasy VIII. For one thing the bird actually looked like a bird. Bright yellow feathers made up the wings and its eyes glowed a fearsome green. Blue streaks of lightning discharged off its body. It threw its head back and then attacked. From its large and sharp beak, the bird shot forth massive amounts of electrical energy at the Sound team. They were so stunned that they didn't even move out of the way. The bolts of lightning sent them flying into the trees. But Orochimaru's men were not that weak as Dozu and Zaku rose to their feet, albite slowly.

Quezacotl didn't give up and continued its onslaught with more sheets of lightning. The two Sound ninja were on their guard now though and quickly dodged, even though they were weakened.

(Cue Song Drum Addict by PP Music (UK) from Destructive Drums 2: Tremors. Download from /)

Seeing as lightning wasn't working I dismissed the electric bird and charged towards Zaku. We both executed a high kick which collided at the same time. Zaku was quick to counter with a punch followed by a kick. I blocked the punch but was hit by the kick. I got back up and my eyes widened as I saw Zaku doing a flying kick. I move out of the way and dodged the kick. I took the chance now that Zaku let his guard down with that flying kick. I threw a couple of kicks hitting his back. Zaku turned around and charge with middle punch. He gasped when I caught it and slammed my foot into his stomach and his chin, sending him into the air.

'Time to end this,' I thought. I flipped through the correct hand seals and charged them with chakra to half strength. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" I placed my right thumb and fore-finger to my mouth. But instead of a red and orange flame, a scorching blue blame shot out of my mouth. The flames grew into a huge ball of blue fire that was then launched at the Sound nin. He screamed once before he was consumed. The fireball hung there like a bright blue sun for several seconds before dispersing. Zaku's burnt body fell to the ground.

(Cue Music Silence)

I looked at the remaining Sound nins. "Who's next?" I growled.

"Wait! Please don't kill us!" said Dosu. "We cannot defeat you at this time." He held out a scroll as a sort of truce sign. "Here is a gift for you, please let us leave."

"Fine. Leave it and get out of my sight." I said. They complied, placing the earth scroll on the ground before lifting their silent smoking team mate off the ground and leaving the camp.

I sighed and sat down, exhausted from the fight. I still had not fully recovered from the previous fight and so I was a little drowsy. Taking several deep breaths I stood up and turned to the others. Lee gave a thumbs up to me which I returned but Sakura was looking at me in a very disgusted way.

(Cue song Rakujitsu by Takanashi Yasuharu from Naruto Shippuuden OST 1)

"You didn't have to go that far you monster!" she yelled at me. Now I was pissed. I strode up to her and looked straight into her eyes.

"Haruno," I growled out. "What was the reason you became a ninja?"

She blinked at me. "What do you…?" she began but I cut her off. "What does being a ninja mean to you?"

"That's obvious, to protect this village," was her answer. I continued to glare at her. "Then what will happen when you have to kill someone to protect this village."

Her eyes widened as the realisation washed over her. I softened my eyes. "If you continue to be a ninja then you will eventually have to do something like what I just did. Is that what you really want?" I asked. She slowly shook her head. I looked at the tops of the trees. "Then you shouldn't be a ninja. If you stay one you will be required to kill. It's our job. I hate killing too, but if I have to do so to protect my friends then I would gladly kill a thousand men to do so." I looked at her again. "After this test, if one of us becomes Chuunin then maybe you should become a med-nin instead. That way you will save lives instead of taking it away. I think that would be best for you." I then looked back to where the jutsu took place. "Besides, I didn't kill him."

(Cue Song Cell Transforms by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. IV)

At that point I felt a blast of evil chakra coming from Sasuke and knew that the seal had been overwhelmed. Sakura instinctively turned around and happily said, "You're awake, Sasuke-kun!" before she noticed the dark purple chakra and the black marks all around Sasuke's body.

But before he could do anything I sped over to him. I reared back my hand and channelled chakra into my fingertips. A small blue chakra flame covered each of the fingertips of my right hand and the kanji for the five main elements glowed through each flame. I jabbed my fingers around the cursed seal and expelled the chakra in my hand calling out, "Five Element Seal!" White markings appeared round the seal, blocking off the other black markings that were spreading over his face. Those markings seamed to dissolve off his skin and the seal itself stopped pulsing. What was left was the cursed seal surrounded by my five elements seal. The markings were different from Kakashi's 'Evil Suppressor'. Instead of a rough circle surrounding the Cursed Seal, there was the kanji for the five main elements in a hexagon shape with straight lines linking each character.

(Cue Song Android 16 by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. I)

The dark purple chakra disappeared and after several seconds Sasuke opened his eyes. "What happened?" he asked softly. I smiled. "I'll tell you later. Right now I need to help Naruto." I turned to Sakura. "You can fill Sasuke in while I fix him up," I suggested. I then moved over to Naruto and lifted his muscle shirt. I saw the Shiki Fuujin was fine. The problem was the amateurish Five Element Seal over the top. I charged up the jutsu again and slammed my hand into his stomach, saying "Five Element Seal Release!" Naruto's body jolted once as the outer seal dissolved. His eyes blinked open as he woke up.

"Hey Otouto. Nice to see you awake," I said warmly. "Aniki? What happened? I remember that I was fighting that snake guy and then… nothing." I patted him on the shoulder. "I'll update you later. Right now I need to know if you and the vixen are alright?" I whispered. Naruto closed his eyes and sat still. After a few seconds he opened them and smiled. "She said that she's fine and says that she appreciates the vixen comment." I blushed slightly as Naruto continued. "And I'm fine, if only a little drained."

'That's right. With the five element seal over the Shiki Fuujin his strength would be cut in half. Now that the seal is removed his chakra reserves should be filling up from half way,' I summarised in my head. We walked out of the hollow in the tree we were in and were greeted by Sasuke and Sakura. "You guys ready to go?" I asked. They nodded. I then felt three people hiding in the bushes and smiled. I turned in their direction and called out, "Hey guys! No need to hide: come on out!" There was a slight pause before Team 10 crawled out of the bushes.

"We were passing by when Ino caught sight of you guys fighting and came to check it out," explained Shikamaru.

"Fair enough. Do you guys need a Heaven Scroll?" I asked. They instantly went on guard. I held up my hands. "Whoa guys, hold on! We just have a spare Heaven Scroll and since we don't need it…" I broke off as I showed them the spare. I threw it to them and it landed right next to them. "We should help our friends when we can." I finished. I then looked at Sakura. "Hey Ino! Do you think you could fix Sakura's hair? She lost some of it whilst protecting us." Sakura looked at me in shock. Ino turned to her. "Sure, just give me a minute."

While that was happening Shikamaru turned and looked at me. "Josh, let me ask you something. What was that thing?"

I smiled in a mysterious manner but kept my mouth shut. He seemed to get the hint and nodded. I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. I will tell you and everyone else my secrets someday soon. And I also have a bad feeling that something bad is on the horizon. There will probably be a time, someday soon, when I'll use my gifts again. Keep your eyes open." I warned.

He sighed. "Troublesome."

After Ino had finished I turned to Lee who was now standing again. I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Will you be fine on your own?" I asked. He nodded and said, "Don't worry about me. My flames of Youth will not be extinguished so easily!" I smiled. "Glad to hear it!" I said. I then turned around and motioned for the others to follow before bounding off toward the Tower.


	19. Chapter 17: Introduction to the Prelimin

**Chapter 17: Introduction to the Preliminaries**

The rest of the journey was uneventful. We hurried at top speed to the tower now that we had the scrolls needed. It took under an hour to get there. For the most part of the journey I was bombarded with questions, mainly from Sasuke. He and Sakura didn't know of the bloodline limit I received from Sophie so I explained that my transformation was my bloodline limit. It wasn't a lie. I don't think Sasuke or Sakura could swallow the idea of someone having **two** bloodlines. I then linked everything from my cosmetic changes to my power to the bloodline limit. I mentioned nothing about my lineage. A simple glance to Naruto told him that I would tell him the whole truth later. When the subject came to the summoning of Quezacotl and the guns I just said that I could not tell them because I didn't want to reveal this information until a time of my choosing. Cries of protest arose from Sakura but I silenced them saying that everyone is entitled to have their own secrets, looking at Naruto and Sasuke while I said it.

(Cue Song Silent Edge by Masashi Hamauzu from DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII- Original Soundtrack)

We arrived at roughly midday at the tower on the second day. The tower itself was a very dark red, cylindrical in a step pyramid way, with a few add ons. There was a small balcony near the top. Obviously the structure was tall but I didn't realise how tall until I saw it up close. None of the super giant trees came even close to rivalling the height of the Tower. At the bottom were dozens of red double doors lining the circumference. Pasted between each door was a piece of paper with a signal seal written on it. These seals were designed to send a signal to show that the door had been opened. Most likely the signal went to the control room of the complex.

I pushed through the doors closest to us and the seal ripped in half. Walking in, we found ourselves in a large room with balconies on the left and right. The room was bare except for a poster of some kind with a mix of hiragana, katakana and kanji words written on it. Even though I didn't learn Japanese while I was at collage, I understood what the symbols said. 'Got to say thanks to Sophie for the translations,' I thought as the others stood beside me.

"If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. If you do not possess Earth, run through the fields and seek strength. If you possess both Heaven and Earth, dangerous paths will become safe paths. This is the secret of … this part is blurred a bit. I can't make it out," said Naruto before finishing up. "It shall lead you on your way. I don't get it?"

"It means," I started to explain but Sasuke interrupted. "I think we need to open the scrolls," he said, falling back into his broody tone a bit. I nodded, a bit peeved at being cut off, but I removed the Heaven and Earth scrolls from the scroll they were sealed into. I gave the Earth one to Naruto. We both paused before opening them all the way. Inside was a summoning seal that were identical to each other. Sakura looked confused. "Huh? Person?" she asked, referring to the symbol in the middle of each summoning circle. I turned to Naruto and looked at him. He nodded and we both threw them away. They landed on top of each other. For a few moments nothing happened. Then the middle of each seal bulged out and started shooting out smoke. The smoke intensified until there was a complete wall of smoke. A poofing sound came out and the smoke cleared away to reveal…

(Cue Song Stories to Tell by Tsuneo Imahori from Trigun - the first donuts)

"Iruka-sensei!" yelled Naruto in surprise.

"Yo. Long time no see," said Iruka in a serious voice before smiling.

"W-what's going on?" said Sakura in the same tone as Naruto.

Iruka just kept on smiling. "Looks like the four of you went through a lot of trouble, even though you got here in just over a full day."

"Why were you summoned, Iruka-sensei?" said Naruto in a serious tone that made Iruka's eyes widen a bit. Shrugging it off he replied, "We Chuunins are to welcome the examinees when they finish the Second Exam. I was given the duty to pass the three of you a message by chance." At this point I gave a short laugh. "Ha! More like you pleaded to be given the chance to pass us personally. You can't fool me Iruka," I said smirking. Iruka flinched back a bit, but recomposed himself.

"Ahem… anyways," he then straightened up and looked at us. "Everyone… Congratulations on passing the Second Exam. And quite quickly I might add."

(Cue Song Before Drawn by Yuki Kajiura from .hack/SIGN Original Soundtrack 1)

I already knew we would pass. 'I admit it was touch and go a couple of times, but we made it through,' I thought. The other three were speechless though. "I'd like to treat you to ramen at Ichiraku's, but…" he didn't get very far after that as Naruto dog piled him. "Yatta! We passed! Woo Hoo!" I laughed softly as I thought 'Same old Naruto. The more you change, the more you stay the same.'

"Hey, Naruto! Let me finish…!" spluttered Iruka, but the only reaction he got out of Naruto was him shouting "Ramen! Ramen! I am the best! I want to eat ramen!" Iruka's face softened as he watched the blond jump for joy. Sakura sunk to the ground, exhausted from the full out sprint to the Tower. Sasuke did the same while giving Naruto a tired smile. Naruto gave off one final "Yay!" before Sakura got fed up. "Shut up," she said with hardly any feeling in the reprimand.

"Geez, Naruto. You're still as restless as ever," commented Iruka.

"So what would you have done to us had we opened the scrolls?" I asked. Iruka picked up the used Earth scroll. "As you have all guessed, this exam tests your mission completion ability. So if you broke the rules and opened a scroll, we were ordered to knock out the examinees until the completion of the Second Exam."

"So what does the text on the wall mean? I already know but I think that these three don't have a clue," I said as I gestured to my friends.

"Well why don't you explain it to them?" smirked Iruka. 'Probably doesn't think that I know. I'll show him!'

(Cue Song "The Order That Must be Protected" from DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY by Takeharu Ishimoto)

"The 'Heaven' in the text refers to the mind of a person and the 'Earth' points to the body. If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. For example, say that the old Naruto's weak point was his brain, he should study and prepare for his missions." At this point Naruto mumbled "That's none of your business…" as Sakura giggled. I laughed and continued. "And if you do not possess Earth, run through the fields and seek strength. For example, if Sakura's weakness lies in her strength, she should train herself every day." Sakura immediately stopped her giggling and became quiet.

"And if you have both Heaven and Earth attributes, any dangerous missions will become safe, even easy. And the missing letter is the letter that symbolizes a Chuunin. The 'Human' letter that was inside the summoning circle." I looked at Iruka. He was nodding through the entire explanation.

"This is the principal Hokage-sama wrote that you should keep in mind as a Chuunin. The survival mission you took part in tested the basic abilities of the examinees as a Chuunin. And you guys completed it," continued Iruka. He looked as Sasuke. "A Chuunin is a commander-class. He has a duty to lead a team." He then turned to Naruto and Sakura. "Deeply inscribe into your heart the importance of knowledge and strength in missions." And finally he looked at me. "Never forget that Chuunin principal." He then looked at all of us. "And go on to the next step."

There were a few moments of silence before Naruto saluted his old teacher. "Yes sir!" Iruka adopted a worried look as he stared at Naruto. The blond lowered his hand slightly. "But don't push yourselves in the Third Exam. Especially you, Naruto. I'm worried about you…"

(Cue Song Sengunbanba by Takanashi Yasuharu from NARUTO Shippuuden Original Soundtrack 1)

"Iruka-sensei," interrupted Naruto, seriousness in his face and tone. "When I got this Konoha Hitai-ate, I graduated from the Academy. You don't need to worry." Everyone, including me, was floored as we heard the maturity in his voice. "And this is the proof you gave me to show that I'm not a child anymore, right, Iruka-sensei? I may still be restless, but I have changed. We all have. Right now, pass or fail, we will give it our all!"

'Wow, he sure has grown up fast,' I thought as I started clapping. Slowly Sasuke joined in, then Sakura. He looked around in confusion before rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. Iruka smiled widely as he clapped as well. "You have really grown, Naruto."

We were led to one of the rooms where teams who finished early stayed until the exam had finished. It was a normal room with four beds along the side of the wall, a desk on the opposite side with a sink. A door leading out of the room revealed a toilet and a shower room. Next to the main exit was a phone for ordering food. We hadn't eaten since the start of the exam so I unsealed some chicken, lettuce and mayonnaise rolls that Tatsuta made for us. We were silent while eating until Naruto spoke up.

(Cue song Ask by Fat Jon from Samurai Champloo OST - Departure)

"So, now what?" he asked with a bit of meat sticking to the side of his mouth.

"Well, we should rest up until the end of the exam. There might be something at the end that requires us at full strength," I said, trying not to give away too much. Sakura looked at me. "What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"Well we passed and I'm pretty sure that the Sand Team got through too. That Gaara is very strong. The Sound Team will probably pass after they heal their team mate as best they can. Team 10 will pass thanks to us. Team Gai will definitely pass. They have a genius Hyuuga, a weapons mistress and a taijutsu specialist. And Team 8 will also pass. Kiba, Shino and Hinata are a recon and stealth team. They wouldn't lose." I stopped to see if everyone was following. "I heard that the last Exam is a tournament. But they can't have more than fourteen people in the last exam. There are at least 6 teams qualifying. That's at least 22 gennin. So there will be something that whittles that total down to 14 or under." The others nodded.

"So any ideas on what that task will be?" asked Sasuke.

"Could be a tournament like the Third Exam," suggested Naruto.

"I agree, that is our best bet," I concluded.

"So what should we do until then?" asked Sakura.

"Train. If we are going to be fighting each other then we need to prepare for anything. Sasuke, Naruto. Would it be alright if you two team up to spar and learn from each other?" I asked. Naruto nodded and to my surprise Sasuke did as well. I smiled before turning to Sakura.

"Sakura, I will be improving you on the skills you know and teaching you a new skill for you to use as a trump card." She nodded at this.

"Well let's rest for today and then we'll start training on the third and fourth day of this exam. On the fifth we rest so that we're ready."

-The Fifth Day, 12:00-

(Cue song "Quickening" from DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY by Takeharu Ishimoto)

We all gathered in a huge room. Balconies lined the edges with stairs to access them. At one end was a huge pair of stone arms shaped into a hand seal. In front of these arms were the Jounin instructors of all the teams that passed. Kakashi, the Copy Cat ninja; Sarutobi Asuma for Team 10 and son of the Hokage; Yuuri Kurenai, Genjutsu Mistress, Ice Queen of Konoha and Jounin teacher for Team 8; Maito Gai, the Green Beast of Konoha, Eternal Rival with Kakashi and Jounin teacher for Team Gai, Baki for the Sand Team and a brown haired Jounin for Kabuto's team. The Jounin for the Sound team was also there, and even though I knew he was Orochimaru, I had to let this play out, or else the future would shift too much into the unknown. I didn't want to lose my edge in knowing what was to come by changing the future too much. In addition there was Morino Ibiki, Iruka, Kotetsu and a Chunin on the left and Anko, Gekkou Hayate, Izumo and another Chunin on the right. The Hokage stood in the middle.

"First off, congratulations on passing the Second Exam," said Anko. She looked thoughtful for a second; most likely thinking that even though 22 gennin passed, she was thinking of a single digit number.

I looked around to see the other contestants. Each team was standing in a line and I was in front, since I was elected to be the Squad Leader. I was situated between Neji and Kiba. I gave Kiba the thumbs up and he responded with a grin that showed off his canine teeth. Akamaru was inside his master's coat with his head poking out. He was shivering slightly. I gave him a small pat on the head which seemed to calm him down slightly. He still looked worried but at least he wasn't shivering. I then looked at Neji. He was as calm and arrogant as always. Looking between the rows I saw Zaku. He really looked worse for wear. Quite a bit of his spiky hair had been scorched off, showing skin that looked horribly burnt. His left cheek showed the same burns. I was surprised that he got away with only that. I guess those clothes protected him somehow. Either that or that Kin girl on their team was a medic. There was also the possibility that Kabuto had healed him slightly before they arrived at the tower.

Looking at the Sand team I saw that they didn't have any wounds. 'Gaara probably did all the fighting.' I thought as I looked at him. He seemed calm but his eyes showed all the chaos that was churning underneath the surface. Kankuro looked like he was trying to stay emotionless but his body language told me that he was nervous about something. Same for Temari. Looking at the teams on the other side I saw Team 10 with Ino in the front. Chouji looked like he was reaching for some chips but there wasn't anything in his hand. He muttered out a simple "I'm hungry…" before going silent again. Shikamaru turned his head slightly to look at the teams remaining and said, "There's still this many people left? How troublesome." His eyes locked with mine and he gave a rare smile in my direction before focusing his attention to the front again.

Focusing chakra into my ears I enhanced my sense of hearing and listened to what some of the Jounin were saying.

"Your team is pretty good," commented Gai as he spoke to Kakashi, trying to provoke a reaction out of the lazy scarecrow. "Perhaps they were lucky. But as long as my team is here, they can't go any further. Since, in the next stage, personal abilities will be critical. Youth is sweet and sour, and sometimes strict, Kakashi." Here Gai looked at Kakashi in hope to see the desired reaction. But, as always, Kakashi answered with the usual sentence.

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"Oh, My God!" yelled Gai in shock. He then turned to the side and clenched his right fist, muttering, "That was pretty good, rival Kakashi. That attitude is somewhat 'Modern' and it pisses me off!" An aura of flames suddenly sprouted around him. I sighed. 'How is it that for him and Lee, who don't know the first bit about Genjutsu, always manage to pull one out when they get inspired about Youth? One of the many mysteries of the Ninja world.' I concluded in my head. I then looked at Lee and saw that there was fire blazing in his eyes. I shook my head. 'Now Lee's fired up too.'

I now saw Neji scoping out the competition. His eyes rested on Sasuke. I then felt eyes on me and I looked around to see the Sound team staring at me. Especially Zaku. He was gritting his teeth at me. Averting my eyes in another direction I spotted Hinata looking at Naruto and doing her little habit of tapping her two fore fingers together. I smiled slightly. 'Just wait a little longer Hinata. I'm getting through to Naruto.'

"All the rookies from Konoha are here," observed Sakura at the back.

"Yeah. All the important people are here too," added Naruto.

"It seems like your guess was right Naruto," said Sasuke. Naruto grinned at his rival's praise.

"We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-sama. Everyone, listen well," called out Anko and we all focused our attention on the aged leader. She then turned to the old man. "Hokage-sama, please do the honours," she said softly. He nodded and stepped forward.

"Ahem… The Third Exam will begin. But before the explanation, there's one thing I want to make clear to all of you. It's about the true purpose of this exam," said Sarutobi. I already knew, but out of respect I kept on listening. A few people looked slightly confused though.

"Why we do a joint exam with the allied nations. 'To maintain good relations with the allied nations' and 'heighten the level of the ninja'. Do not let those reasons deceive you. This 'exam', so to speak is…," here he paused to exhale some of the smoke from his pipe. "Just a replacement for war between the allied nations."

"What do you mean?" asked Tenten.

"If we go back through history, the allied nations right now were just neighbouring countries that have fought over each other again, and again. To avoid wasting military power, those countries decided to choose a place to fight. That is the beginning of the Chuunin Exam." At this point, most of the qualifying gennin were a bit pissed. Naruto voiced this new anger by saying, "What then is the point of having these exams? Aren't we enrolling in this to try to become Chuunin?"

"Yes, this Exam does examine those who are worthy to advance to the next stage of being a ninja. But, on the other hand, it's also a place where ninja fight and carry their country's dignity."

"Country's dignity?" questioned Sakura in a soft voice.

"In this Third Exam, feudal lords, ladies and famous people from various countries who may be potential clients are invited here as guests. And feudal lords from countries with their own Hidden Village, as well as the Kage's from each participating village, will see your battles. If there's a significant difference in power, the strong country will be flooded with jobs. If a country is seen as weak, their employment rate will decrease. And at the same time, countries are able to show how their village has grown and possess excellent military power to the adjacent countries. In other words, they can put foreign pressure on them."

"So why do we have to fight with the risk of losing our lives?" interrupted Kiba.

"A country's power is the village's power. A village's power is the ninja's power. And a ninja's true power is only born in life-or-death battles. This Exam is also a place to show off the ninja's power of one's country. Since this is an exam where you fight with your life on the line, it has a meaning, and your predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chuunin Exam because of it."

"But why do you say it is to promote good relations?" asked Tenten in a mix of anger and confusion.

The Hokage looked a bit peeved at that comment. "I told you at the beginning to not get it confused with that. The custom of shaving one's life and fighting to maintain balance… That is the good relation in the world of ninja. This is a life-or-death battle for your dream and village's dignity," finished Sarutobi.

There was silence for several seconds before Naruto said, "I get it now." Gaara though, was getting impatient. "I don't care. Tell us the details of this life-or-death exam."

"Yes. Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam, but…" Sarutobi was cut off as Hayate jumped and kneeled in front of the Hokage. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama. I, Gekkou Hayate, the judge, will explain."

"Please do," agreed Sarutobi.

(Cue song "Preparation for Battle" from DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY by Takeharu Ishimoto)

Hayate stood up. "Everyone, it's nice to meet you." He expelled a small coughing fit and cleared his throat. He turned his head to look behind him and showed his sickly face. "Everyone, before the Third Exam…," the poor guy coughed again before continuing. "There's something I want you to do." His coughs then got stronger. Some of the gennin looked a little worried. Finished with the coughing fit, Hayate gave us a small smirk before fully turning around.

"Fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance to the Third Exam's main battle."

I looked around. Most of the Gennin were a little shocked. I didn't need to look behind me though. I could feel the rest of my team smiling softly. Shikamaru voiced his thoughts though. "Preliminary matches? What do you mean?" Ino joined in. "Why can't we just start the Third Exam with the remaining examinees?"

"Well, in this case, the First and Second Exam were too easy, or that you're all exceptional gennin, I don't know. But there are too many examinees left. According to Chuunin Exam regulations, we must decrease the number of participants for the Third Exam."

"No way!" said Ino in dismay.

"As previously mentioned by Hokage-sama; there are many guests for the Third Exam. So we cannot just have a lot of matches. We are limited on time right now. So, those who aren't feeling well…" Here he had another strong coughing fit, making me wonder if he should be judging at all. I'm sure I wasn't alone in thinking this.

"Excuse me. If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation, please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately," finished Hayate.

"Immediately?" called out Kiba.

"But we just got through the Second Exam…" whined Ino, the fatigue clearly showing through her voice.

"How troublesome," said Shikamaru in exasperation.

"What? What about my meal?" asked Chouji to no-one in particular.

I could feel Naruto's enthusiasticness as he said softly, "All right, I'm going to give it my best. I made a promise with you guys that I would and I'm not going back!" I grinned.

"Oh. I forgot to mention this, but from now on it will be one-on-one matches. So please withdraw if you wish," Hayate added.

I turned around and addressed Naruto. "Can I switch places? I need to talk to Sasuke." He nodded and we switched. Now facing Sasuke I asked, "Sasuke, do you trust my info on seals?" He nodded. "Then I'll tell you what that seal is on your shoulder and also the seal I put on that is surrounding it." He nodded again, urging me on.

(Cue song Genius Scientist Cid by Akifumi Tada from Final Fantasy: Unlimited OST)

"The three tomoe seal is called the 'Curse Seal'. There are a few versions but the one you have on is the perfected 'Heaven' version. The Cursed Seal gives you power, lots of it, but it is just your own chakra that has been corrupted by the seal. The seal only amplifies the output, making it seem that you just gained an incredible power boost. It's like turning on a tap. The seal forces the tap open, flooding your body with chakra. Also, thanks to the corruption on your chakra, every time you use the seal, it eats away at your free will. That means becoming a slave and not being able to do anything about it. Not only will you not be able to make your own decisions, but your ambitions will also disappear. That means you will not be able to act out your revenge." Sasuke's eyes widened. It seemed that he understood. "Now the seal over the top is called 'The Five-Element Seal'. I placed it on so that it will keep the Cursed Seal contained. No outside influence will activate the seal unless it's removed. However, if your resolve to not use the seal's power wavers, or if you try to mould chakra, the Curse seal will activate, but since my seal is over the top, the power will be greatly diminished. This means no Sharingan or chakra jutsu. The Five-Element Seal is easy to unlock for anyone who knows how to perform the seal. So I'll work out another seal so that it can't be unlocked in battle until I find a way to erase the cursed seal. And Sakura," I turned to the pink haired kunochi. "He'll be fine so there's no need to worry about him, ok?" She nodded. "So, we all go?" I asked. "Yeah," said all three. I smiled. "Well now that that's settled," I then shuffled back to the front of the line.

-Third POV-

"Amazing! That kid is simply amazing! Using a Five-Element Seal to block the influence from outside and now he says that he's going to work on removing it?" said Anko in wonder.

"Yes he's truly an interesting kid," said Ibiki.

"I have a feeling he'll be nominated for Chuunin," mused Sarutobi.

"In the meantime, what will we do with Sasuke?" asked Ibiki.

"As much as I would like to rely on wonder boy, we should take Sasuke out of the exams, and isolate him with ANBU escorts," said Anko.

"He's not the type that'll listen to you that easily," said Kakashi as he eye-smiled. "He is part of the famous Uchiha clan, after all."

"Stop fooling around! I'll make him quit even if I have to use force!" said Anko in an angry voice. "Even though the Five-Element Seal is on him, Orochimaru's power is not to be underestimated. Despite the kid's talent, he's still just a boy!" She then rubbed her own Cursed Seal. "Hokage-sama!" she pleaded to the old leader.

-Normal POV-

I looked to my right as I saw Kabuto raise his hand. The Hokage also directed his attention to him. "What is it?" he asked.

"Ano… I'll quit," he said.

There was quite a bit of muttering between the gennin. Hayate looked down at his clip board that was the list of examinees still left. "Let's see…" He looked through the names. "You are Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto-kun?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer he finished off. "You may leave then."

"Hai," said Kabuto before turning around and walking away. The mutterings continued but no-one called out to him.

"I'll retire too." I swivelled my head to see that it was Zaku who spoke. 'I guess even he had to admit his injuries to himself,' I thought as he also walked out. 'Either that or Orochimaru wants him to prepare for the resurrection jutsu.'

After a few more minutes of silence Hayate looked up. "May I assume there are no more people who wish to retire?" he asked.

-Third POV-

"We will let Sasuke participate in the exam and observe him," said Sarutobi.

"Hokage-sama!" said Anko in shock.

"I'm going to trust Josh on this matter. But if the Cursed Seal opens up and his powers become uncontrollable, stop him," the Hokage added.

"Hai," confirmed Ibiki. Anko paused before agreeing.

-Normal POV-

(Cue song TREMBLING WITH EAGERNESS by Michihiko Shichi from Dynasty Warriors 5 OST)

"Then let's begin the preliminary matches," stated Hayate. "They will be one-on-one matches. In other words, it will be like real combat. Now that we have exactly 20 people, we will have ten matches. And the winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam. There are no rules. You will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out or admits defeat. Well, if you do not want to die, please give up immediately. However, if I judge that the match is over *cough* I may stop you to prevent any unnecessary deaths. The thing that will hold your destiny…" here Hayate gestured behind him. Part of the wall slid open to reveal an electric bulletin board. "Will be this. This electric bulletin board will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match." Hayate then turned back to us. "Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match."

The board flashed yellow once, then began flipping through all the names. It only took a few seconds to choose the first match up.

Akadou Yoroi VS Uchiha Sasuke


	20. Chapter 18 The Lion and the Dragon

**Chapter 18: The Lion and the Dragon**

(Cue song TREMBLING WITH EAGERNESS by Michihiko Shichi from Dynasty Warriors 5 OST)

"Heh, right off the bat, eh?" said Sasuke. I turned to him and gave him some last minute info and advice.

"Sasuke, while we trained in Stealth in the few days before the exam, we sneaked into the Hokage tower and researched all of the competitors. This guy uses a technique that will drain you of your chakra. Since the Cursed Seal reacts to chakra my suggestion is you use your speed and taijutsu to overcome this."

Sasuke nodded, his face set in resolution. Hayate then called out. "Those whose names were displayed, step up." Sasuke walked around us and came to the front. They turned and faced each other. "The first mach's fighters are Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Are there any objections?" asked Hayate to the two gennin. They both yelled "No!"

"We will now begin the first match. *cough* Everyone other that the two fighters, please move to the balconies," Hayate said as he gestured to the sides. All of the Konoha ninja moved to the right side and the Sand and Sound teams moved to the opposite side. Before we headed up ourselves I saw Kakashi walking toward us.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" called Naruto. He took no notice of him and instead he walked up to Sasuke. "Don't use your Sharingan," he said softly to Sasuke. The onyx eyed gennin just smirked. "I already know. Josh told me." Kakashi gave me a sideways glance before continuing. "If that cursed seal on your neck becomes uncontrollable, it may kill you." Sasuke continued to smile. "Josh told me that too."

Kakashi again looked at me out of the corner of his eye but said nothing. "Well, if that happens, the match will be cancelled. I'll stop you, so keep that in mind," finished the silver haired Jounin. He then proceeded to walk to the balcony. I walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder opposite the seal.

"Don't worry. Just stay calm. You can beat this guy," I said before joining my friends on the balcony. After a few moments of silence Hayate said, "Begin," before jumping away.

(Cue song DABES from Dynasty Warriors 6 OST)

Yoroi made a hand seal as he said, "Let's go!" Sasuke slid into his taijutsu stance. Yoroi released the hand seal and dropped his hands into his own stance. His right hand started glowing with his chakra. Yoroi reached into his supply pouches while staring Sasuke down. Sasuke drew a Kunai from the holster at his side as Yoroi drew a few shrunken from his pouch and flung them toward Sasuke. The Uchiha gave a strong swipe to repel the shrunken back to Yoroi. However he flinched after the strike and fell to the ground.

'He probably unconsciously pumped chakra into his arm to strengthen the swing,' I thought as I continued watching the fight.

Sasuke looked up only to see that Yoroi was standing over him, his arm swinging down. Sasuke flung himself away as the punch went straight into the ground next to him, flinging small pieces of stone and concrete around. Sasuke used the kunai to stop himself as he stabbed the weapon into the ground. He then used the knife to push himself forward and he used both feet to kick into Yoroi's arm that was still in the ground. Yoroi crashed to the ground and Sasuke gripped his legs around his neck to try to strangle him. He held Yoroi's other hand against his chest to keep him from moving away.

'You idiot! Have you already forgotten that he can drain your stamina!' I called out in my mind. Yoroi had already activated his jutsu and was draining away. After a few moments Sasuke started trembling as he was paralysed. Yoroi easily moved his arm out of Sasuke's grip and flung it back down onto Sasuke's chest with quite a bit of force. Sasuke grunted loudly as the fist connected and he flinched back, allowing Yoroi to get back to his feet. He flipped away to get some distance between them. Sasuke was still shaking violently. Yoroi then charged at Sasuke but at the very last moment Sasuke jumped away.

Yoroi stopped his advance and chuckled. "So you've noticed," he said softly.

Sasuke was panting heavily as he tried to stop the trembling. "Relax, I'll end this quickly," said Yoroi as he powered up the jutsu again and charged.

Sasuke barely dodged the strikes form Yoroi. They weren't that fast but one strike brushed Sasuke's hair. His eyes widened and he slowly staggered away. Yoroi turned around. "What's wrong? Are you done for already?" he taunted. Sasuke did a sweeping mid kick but Yoroi had jumped away. Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He then opened his eyes and grinned. "I guess it's time," he said before he disappeared in extreme speed. He appeared behind Yoroi and punched him in the small of the back, sending him flying. Sasuke pressed his advantage by charged again, leaving a trail of dust that had gathered on the floor behind him. Yoroi saw Sasuke coming and just managed to duck Sasuke's foot which would have connected with his head and ended the match immediately, however, Yoroi was now inside Sasuke's guard and pressed the advantage. Yoroi's hand glowed blue again and sprang upwards before shoving his hand onto Sasuke's head. Sasuke immediately kicked Yoroi's mid section to get him off. Sasuke looked like he was ready to collapse. I then heard Naruto yelling at Sasuke.

"You call yourself Uchiha Sasuke with that?" he yelled. Sasuke looked around to see us. He then moved his eyes passed me to see Lee who he and his team had gathered beside us. His eyes widened. 'Here we go now,' I thought.

Yoroi apparently took the advantage of Sasuke looking the other way by charging him, his hand aglow. "You don't have time to look the other way," he called out as he neared his opponent.

(Cue song Those Who Fight (FFVII AC Version) by Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children OST)

Just when Yoroi was about to grab Sasuke's head, Sasuke dissapeared and reappeared right underneath Yoroi, which caught him totally by suprise, throwing him off guard for a second. A single second was more than enough time for Sasuke to begin his move. Sasuke kicked Yoroi in the chin from his crouched position and jumped up to shadow his flight through the air. "Leaf Shadow Dance?" asked Yoroi. "Yup. Form here on out, it's all original."

Sasuke poked two fingers into Yoroi's back to get a centre of gravity from which to rotate for his attacks. I took a moment to look at Orochimaru who was disguised as the Sound Jounin. He was smirking in a sick way as he focused his sight on Sasuke but suddenly his expression changed from that snaky smile to one of slight surprise and confusion. 'Ha! In your face Snaky shithead!' I crowed out in my mind before looking back at the fight.

Sasuke brought his right leg around in a sweeping strike, which Yoroi blocked with little effort.

"Not good enough!" smirked Yoroi.

"No, you're not good enough." Sasuke said simply.

To illustrate the point, Sasuke brought his left fist in another sweeping motion, much like a lion would when it slashed at it's pray. This hit, Yoroi couldn't guard and it caught him full on the face, sending him plummeting to the ground.

"I'm not done yet!"

Sasuke landed another few sweeping strikes before he finished it off with an axe kick straight to Yoroi's mid section as he came into contact with the ground, essentially doubling the damage it would have done. Sasuke announced his move to the crowd.

"Lion Combo!"

I smiled. "Nice going Sasuke."

Sasuke skidded away from Yoroi and was still for a few seconds. There were cracks around the area where Yoroi had landed. It looked like he was down for good. Sasuke slowly rose to his feet, panting heavily. The whole place was silent except the noise from Sasuke.

"I will stop this match now," said Hayate who had checked Yoroi. "The first match winner is Uchiha Sasuke. This means he passes the preliminary matches."

"Yatta!" called out Naruto in joy. Sakura sighed heavily. I smiled again and Shunshined down to Sasuke. He looked up at me and smiled. Not a smirk, but a smile that you give to friends. "I did it," he said weakly. "You sure did," I answered as I slung his arm around me and helped him back to the balcony.

"Ha ha, Sasuke, you're all worn out!" said Naruto, teasing him. Sasuke smirked. "Shut up, loser," was his half hearted reply after I propped him againsed the wall. He then closed his eyes.

"Sasuke-kun? Are you alright?" asked Sakura in a worried voice. I turned to her. "Don't worry. He's just resting. He'll wake up later." I assured her.

"We will now begin the next match," announced Hayate. Everyone then turned their attention to the screen. Yet again it flashed yellow before flipping thought the remaining names before settling on the next line up.

Josh Ryu Kitsune VS Aburame Shino

'Hmm, this will be interesting,' I thought. I turned to Naruto. "Wish me luck," I said cheerfully before flame Shunshining to the floor. I waited for Shino to stand in front of me before bowing to him respectfully. "I look forward to fighting with you." I said before standing straight again.

"Go Aniki! Kick his ass!" yelled Naruto from the stands. I acknowledged him with a small wave before focusing on my opponent.

"We will now begin the second match. Now begin," said Hayate and stepped away. I slid into a taijutsu stance before relaying what I knew about Shino to him.

(Cue song Trigger Situation by Masashi Hamauzu from DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII- Original Soundtrack)

"Aburame Shino, heir to the Aburame Clan. Uses Kikai bugs to drain the enemy's chakra before finishing them off." Shino gave no indication of his reaction as he spoke to me. "Josh Ryu Kitsune. Even though I know nothing about your fighting style, I will still win."

"I know you are very logic orientated but you shouldn't underestimate me Shino," I said before focusing my thoughts.

'Marisha, you there?' I called out in my mind.

"Yes I'm here. What's wrong?" she asked.

'I'm up againsed someone who can drain my chakra. Does your Dragon Armour stop this from happening?' I asked.

"Yes, and to help you with this I will tell you one of my fire jutsus. It's called 'Moon Fire'. It will feed off your opponents energy instead of burning them. Just call out the name to activate the fire and them all you have to do is use your own energy to expel the fire from any part of your body."

'Wow! Thanks! That will really help because I really don't want to hurt him.' I said as I broke off the connection.

I looked at Shino. "Well there's no reason to chat any further so I'll get started." I then closed my eyes and projected my thought through my head.

'I summon your Dragon Armour, Marisha!'

"My pleasure," said the warm female voice.

-Third POV-

Josh exploded with power. A sphere of blue flames encompassed him and started floating upward. The sphere stopped rising when about three meters in the air. After a few moments the sphere descended back to the ground and the blue flames disappeared. What was left made many people gasp out loud.

Josh was decked out in sapphire blue body armour. The gauntlets had claw tipped fingers. The material looked like small scales that were tightly packed together. It looked incredibly stiff but as Josh walked towards Shino with no trouble it gave the impression that the scales were quite flexible. Only his head was visible as he smirked.

-Normal POV-

(Cue song Queen's Harbor from Tekken 6 ~ Bloodline Rebellion OST)

"Moon Fire," I said softly. I then felt a pleasantly warm feeling in myself as the fire circled around in my body. I decided to test the fire and so I gave a straight punch to the side while using my chakra to direct the fire out of my fist. This resulted in a three foot long jet of lavender coloured fire to shoot out of my fist. I also noticed that the smoke smelt like lavender.

'Wow,' was all I thought as I then charged toward Shino. He looked a little less sure of himself but we engaged in a taijutsu fight.

I made the first move as I launched a straight punch at Shino who dodge it. He countered with a kick which hit me. I charged again with a couple of punches that expelled the same lavender coloured fire. The flames licked around Shino and he jumped back to try to but out the fire, only to see that he wasn't on fire. Shino looked slightly confused. He took a step towards me but then suddenly fell to one knee.

"This fire consumes chakra instead of air," I explained as he got to his feet. He stayed back as if to consider his next move. I didn't give him time to do so as I stepped up my attack. I executed a flurry of kicks and punches, each with the Moon Fire flowing out of each attack. Shino was slowing down with each wave of fire pushing through him. I probably looked like Zuko fighting with his fire bending in the anime Avatar: The Last Airbender. It wasn't long before he was panting.

I heard small scratching noises and looked around to see Shino's bugs crawling over me, trying to suck up my chakra, but unable to do so. 'I've dragged this fight out long enough,' I thought as I focused all the fire I had left and gave a straight palm thrust. A huge wave of Moon Fire exploded out of my open hand and slammed straight into Shino. The whole area was glowing in the lavender coloured fire for a few seconds before the flames died out, leaving Shino unconscious. Hayate walked over to check Shino before standing up.

"The second match winner is Josh Ryu Kitsune," he announced before Naruto called out, "Yeah! Aniki kicks ass!"

Before the medics came over to take him to the hospital, I dismissed the Dragon Armour and walked over to Shino. I pushed some of my own chakra into his system to bring him out of being unconscious. After several seconds he moved his hand. He looked up at me and said, "That was a good match." I smiled. "Yes it was," I answered before he was carried off. I walked back up to the balcony to where my team was. I slapped Naruto a high-five. Sasuke was back to standing as he leaned on the railing for support. "Interesting fight," he commented. Sakura just smiled at me.

"What was that fire?" Kakashi asked.

"That fire is called Moon Fire. It doesn't burn and actually feels quite nice, but it feeds of chakra, much like normal fire feeds of oxygen. So Shino is just out of chakra for the moment, that's all," I explained.

"That's a relief," said a male voice behind me. Turning around I saw Kiba, Hinata and Kurenai.

"Hey Kiba, Hinata, Kurenai" I greeted warmly. I was going to say more but Hayate's words drew my attention.

"We will now begin the third match." Everyone then turned to the board again. Soon the next match up was decided.

Tsurugi Misumi VS Kankurou

"Finally, my turn. Now I get to show these babies what a real shinobi is like," said the black clothed gennin as he glanced across the room at the Konoha teams on the opposite observation deck including us.

'Idiot, he's completely underestimating us. Time to remind him that Konoha ninja are not to be trifled with,' I thought as I started focusing my chakra to my eyes.

-Kankurou's POV-

I felt at ease as I walked down the stairs after saying that little speech. 'Heh, these Konoha teams are weaklings. I could beat…'

(Cue song Vegeta's Theme by Bruce Faulconer from The Best of Dragon Ball Z, Vol. I)

All of a sudden I saw something that I never wished to see again. The glowing eyes of that person, no, demon on the opposite side. I knew he had heard what I had said, and now I regretted saying it. A bunch of images flashed through my mind. They were all from the last encounter with him. 'Shit, shit, shit, what do I do? He feels more dangerous than Gaara, way more. On the other hand, I'm glad he's glairing at me and not Gaara, else he would loose control right here and now. Now that's fucked up.'

-Normal POV-

I stopped channelling chakra into my eyes. It had the desired effect as I saw him gulp and continue down the stairs. 'Everyone has their own ways of battling and a real ninja accepts that, even honours that.'

"We will now begin the next match," said Hayate once both opponents were facing each other. He then leapt clear so the match could get underway.

Misumi cleared his throat before saying, "Unlike Yoroi, I go all out against little punks like you. I'll say it now, if I put my techniques on you it's over. Give up immediately, I'm going to end this quickly."

Kankuro reached to the strap holding the wrapped bundle on his back as he said, "Then I also will end this quickly!"


	21. Chapter 19: Rivals

**Chapter 19: Rivals**

Previously on Soul of Fire

_Misumi cleared his throat before saying, "Unlike Yoroi, I go all out against little punks like you. I'll say it now, if I put my techniques on you it's over. Give up immediately, I'm going to end this quickly."_

_Kankuro reached to the strap holding the wrapped bundle on his back as he said, "Then I also will end this quickly!"_

(Cue song Malicious Fingers from Star Ocean 3: Til the End of Time OST 2)

Misumi leapt forward as he cried, "I won't give you the chance to do anything! Victory goes to the swiftest!" and sent a jab towards Kankuro that the Sand Genin caught and blocked.

Then something very strange happened. Looking down, Kankuro's eyes widened as Misumi's arm seemed to be made of rubber and flowed around his arm. The rest of the older Genin's body followed and Kankuro found himself in a full body hold with Misumi wrapped around him in such a way that I was beginning to think Kankuro's opponent was not into girls. Kankuro's bundle fell to the ground by his feet, out of reach.

"I can take my joints off their hinges and use my chakra to control my loosened body. So I can keep squeezing until I break your bones. If you don't give up I'll keep squeezing harder. I don't know what kind of Shinobi tools you use, but you can't do anything like this. Try anything and I won't wait for you to give up, I'll break your neck immediately. Hurry and give up," said Misumi as he tightened his grip slightly.

"Heh, no way," said Kankuro.

"Do you want to die?" asked Misumi.

"Idiot. You're the one who's going to die," replied the make-up wearing genin. Misumi's eyes narrowed in rage and the next sound everyone heard was a loud SNAP as he broke Kankuro's neck before Hayate could make a move to stop him. Sakura gasped.

"His neck is broken," Lee said softly.

"Misumi would have one the match if not for one key factor," I said.

Naruto turned to me. "What's that, Aniki?" he asked but I kept quiet.

"Damn it, you idiot," said Misumi. "I got carried away and broke it."

Kankuro's head suddenly spun around 180 degrees to face Misumi and he said, "Now it's my turn." I saw Naruto's eyes widened as cracks appeared on Kankuro's face, revealing a wooden surface beneath the make-up. Wooden arms sprouted from Kankuro's body and grabbed Misumi while the older genin was still frozen in surprise.

"A puppet?" gasped Misumi. A slight bulge appeared in the side of the wrapped bundle and Kankuro's arm reached through the bandages and soon the boy was standing in a circle of discarded bandages.

"There's the real one. Kankuro is a puppet user," I explained. "He controls the puppet with chakra strings. But a puppet user's worst enemy is a Hyuuga. For their bloodline limit, the Byakugan enables them to see the strings."

"Ohh… I see," said Naruto, who nodded in understanding.

"I give… Argh!" were the words that came from Misumi's mouth.

"If I break your bones you'll be even softer right?" asked Kankuro. Misumi screamed in pain as the puppet's grip on him tightened. "Though I'll go easy on your neck," muttered Kankuro. The only reason I heard was that I was still channelling chakra to my ears. Eventually Misumi, along with the puppet, toppled to the floor.

Hayate coughed and moved towards the combatants. "The battle cannot continue. Winner, Kankuro!" he exclaimed.

"That fight was rather boring, and isn't he a little too old to be playing with dolls?" I said rather loudly. Kankuro spun around to glare at me, while all of the Konoha gennin started laughing. Even Temari had a slight twitch on her lips from what I saw. I just grinned at him. I turned to joke with Naruto but then caught sight of Sakura's face. She looked worried and her eyes seemed distant, as if she was thinking intently. I put a hand on her shoulder which shocked her out of her thinking. "What?" she asked.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said a bit too quickly. I continued to look at her. Eventually she confessed. "It's just that everyone is remarkable at using their chakra. I thought that I was pretty good at using my chakra, but…" she trailed off. I smiled. She was unsure of herself. Quite a common thing to feel.

(Cue song Trust Me by Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack)

"Don't worry Sakura," I said. She looked up at me, since I had my height jutsu on. "Remember what Naruto said? 'Pass or Fail, we will give it our all'. You've come a long way from being a silly little fan-girl." She looked a little pissed but she didn't scream or try to bash me. "See? A few months ago if I would have said that you would be foaming at the mouth. The fact of the matter is that you have gotten stronger. Both mentally and physically. Especially with the training I gave you." She looked down for a few seconds before looking back at me with determination. "You're right. I am a lot stronger." I smiled as Naruto and Sasuke came to stand beside me. "That's right Sakura-chan! Go Kick Ass! I want to see what you've been training on!" said Naruto with enthusiasm, even using the -chan suffix on her name. She smiled at that. Sasuke smirked in a friendly manner. "I agree with Naruto. I also want to see what your training has produced." At this Sakura beamed but then she saw the serious look in his eyes.

"Sakura, even though I can't return your feelings, would you still be willing to be my friend?" Sasuke asked nervously. Sakura nodded, a smile adorning her features. "Sure… Sasuke," she said, purposely leaving out the -kun. She started laughing softly but Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, this is no time to be laughing," he said as he pointed at the board. She looked up and her eyes widened.

Haruno Sakura VS Yamanaka Ino

(Cue song For The Reunion by Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children OST)

Sakura turned to look at Ino who was staring at the board in shock as well. Ino's light blue eyes flickered to Sakura, only to harden slightly. Sakura flinched slightly and looked away for a moment. I once again placed my hand on her shoulder. "We'll be rooting for you," I said gently before pulling away. She smiled slightly before locking her determined eyes with her rival.

After a minute the two girls were facing each other. They were silent before Ino broke the silence.

"I didn't think that I would be fighting you, Sakura. And so early on," she said, slightly reserved.

I sighed and both Naruto and Sasuke looked at me, questioningly. "Sakura and Ino go way back, all the way to the early years of the academy. When Sakura first entered the Ninja Academy, she was relentlessly picked on because she had a big forehead. The result made Sakura very shy. Ino was her only friend. This battle will determine their friendship." I explained. "They only recently became rivals because they both had the same object of affections." I then wrapped my arm around Sasuke's neck in a mock headlock. "Of course if I hadn't intervened, those two would still be fighting over you. Now though, well, let's just say that it will be an interesting fight. Probably a long one too. We might as well get comfortable."

-Third POV-

'Ino exceeded the others among the rookie kunochi,' thought Team 8's Jounin teacher, Sarutobi Asuma. 'Will she fight with everything she has against Sakura? No… That is, if she can.'

"Of all the combinations, it chose those two. How troublesome," said Shikamaru in his normal tone. "Will Ino be okay?" asked Chouji to no-one in particular.

The two fighters both narrowed their eyes at each other. Hayate coughed as he said, "The fourth match will now start. Begin."

(Cue song On the Verge of the Assault (from FFVII "Those Who Fight") by Takeharu Ishimoto from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack)

Straight away the two charged each other. Sakura started the fight off with a high kick. Ino ducked before giving a short straight punch. Sakura dodged and dropped to the ground to deliver a low kick. Ino flipped backwards over the kick and dropped back to the ground, narrowly missing a second kick aimed for her head. Ino jumped away to put some distance between them. Sakura drew three kunai and flicked them toward Ino. She side-stepped the attack, grabbing one of the flying knifes and flinging it away from her to block a fourth kunai from Sakura. The pink haired kunochi then charged in for the second time.

Up in the stands Shikamaru sighed. "Just as I thought…" Naruto nodded. "Yeah, they're both holding back." Shikamaru looked sharply at Naruto for a second before returning his attention to the fight. 'Naruto noticed it?' he thought in confusion.

"They're female ninja, after all. Their physical combat skills are lower than normal," said a voice that dripped with so much superiority it was sickening. Tenten though, disagreed.

"It's not because they are female," she said in a slightly hurt voice as she glanced at her team mate.

At this point, both combatants were breathing a little heavy. Sakura charged in and executed a textbook perfect high kick but Ino ducked underneath. Sakura tried to back hand punch Ino following with a second punch but Ino just dodged the first punched and blocked the second. They both executed high kicks which collided with each other. There was a slight pause before Ino lunged in with a right hook. Sakura moved under the arm. She blocked two mid punches from Ino but the third slipped under her guard and connected with her stomach. Sakura's eyes widened as she coughed up some spit. Ino took this temporary paralysis as a chance to swing another right hook at Sakura's face. Sakura looked up, not being able to do anything. Seeing this Ino had a picture flash before her eyes. It was a picture of Sakura when she was little. She had a slight blush on her face and her mouth was bunched up sightly as she tried to hold the tears that were collecting in the corners of her eyes. Ino recoiled slightly as she tried to stop her fist from colliding.

The sound of a slap reverberated around the room as Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Shikamaru and Chouji widened their eyes. Ino's hand was still and Sakura's head was tilted to the side from the slap. She looked surprised before looking at Ino. Ino's features softened as she looked at her hand.

(Cue song A Tiny Memory by Nobuo Uematsu from Lost Odyssey Original Soundtrack)

-Ino's Flashback-

It was a bright spring morning and all the young kunochi were having their lesson out in one of the training grounds. Their teacher was lecturing on the skills of a kunochi.

"Female ninja must obtain a wide range of knowledge and education as a woman, not just ninja techniques. If you cannot act like a woman when you are in enemy territory, you will have trouble spying," said the teacher as she adjusted her glasses. "Today's topic is flower arrangement. Now, everyone pick the flowers you want."

Amongst the listening girls was Sakura looking nervous. Next to her was Ino looking confident. They all then got up and spread out to find their flowers.

Sakura ran to try to catch up with Ino, who had gone off by herself. She spotted her a few yards away and called out, "Ino-chan, wait!" She then tripped and fell on the soft grass. She slowly looked up to see Ino "You're such a klutz," she said. Sakura just laughed nervously.

As the others were all gathering their own flowers Sakura and Ino were looking together. Sakura picked a flower that looked like a flower sized tree with white leaves. It was a Thoroughwort.

"I'm no good at these things," said Sakura sadly. She took the flower to Ino. "What about you, Ino-chan?" she asked. Ino looked at the flower and sighed.

"You maybe named after a flower, Sakura, but you're not very good. There's a trick to these things. In flower arrangement, once you pick your main flower, you add other flowers to accentuate it. Flowers shouldn't fight to be number one. Let's see…" she broke off from her explanation to try to spot a more complex flower. She found what she was looking for and pointed for Sakura to see. "Look over there. Can you see it?"

Sakura looked to see flowers with pink petals. They were Cosmos. Ino continued her little lesson. "For example, if that cosmos is the main one, then the flowers you picked, the thoroughworts, are just extras. Cosmos differs from spring flowers in that it's known as 'cherry blossom' in the fall. It's also the most beautiful flower during the fall season. It also means harmony, so it fits with any other fall flowers."

Sakura was in awe of Ino's knowledge. She then got sad again. Ino picked the white flower out of her hand and set it in her hair. "Do I look good with this? Like a cosmos? Am I cute?" she asked. It was as innocent answer but Sakura couldn't help but feel sadder. Still she answered yes. Ino noticed the pause and asked, "What was that gap?" Sakura just laughed nervously to try and get off the subject.

"You seem to be having extra fun today… Forehead girl," said a mean sounding voice behind her. Sakura recognised the voice as the girl with violet hair and brown, sneering eyes. She was backed up by two other girls. 'Not them! Anyone but them!' she cried out in her mind. She turned to them, her emerald green eyes fearful. Ino just frowned.

Mean girl no.1 walked up to Sakura and belt over slightly. "Have you been trying to look cute lately? Don't flatter yourself." She then flicked Sakura's exposed forehead hard, causing her to cry out. It was then that three violet flowers slammed into her mouth and she fell back, gagging slightly.

"Ami-chan!" said the other two mean girls in unison as they ran to check her.

"I'm sorry," said Ino in a voice that sounded the complete opposite. "She has no curves so I mistook her for a vase and put flowers in her." Ami sat back up and growled loudly with the flowers still in her mouth. "Ino!" she fumed.

Ino held up the same violet coloured flower with jaggedly shaped leaves. "Ninja flower, Aconite. It is a weak poison, but you should spit it out since it's poisonous, she explained calmly.

"AHHHH!" screamed all three girls and they ran away with Ami yelling, "SENSEI!"

Ino then erupted into laughter and explained to a confused Sakura, "Only the roots have poison in them." She winked at Sakura before she started giggling again.

Sakura smiled in awe again. 'Ino-chan is amazing. She knows a lot, is stylish, cute, and combined with that kunai throwing technique… She excels in ninja jutsus too. Compared to her, I'm…' She looked sadly at the thoroughwort in her hand.

Ino noticed her friend's down look. "Sakura?" she asked. "If you're a cosmos, Ino-chan, am I a thoroughwort?" she answered with a question. Ino frowned, thinking that the bullying had gotten Sakura into thinking sad thoughts. She sighed heavily, wondering what to say. After a few moments she smiled.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura looked at her friend. "Well… If you ask me, you're not even a flower yet, just a bud."

Sakura felt dejected but put up a front by laughing nervously again. "Yeah…" The sadness was evident in her voice as she looked at the thoroughwort.

(Cue song Sakusen by WATABE Chieru from Prince of Tennis Original Soundtrack 1)

-Back to Present-

Sakura's right hand curled unto a tight fist. "Now that it's come to this," she said, shocking Ino out of her emotions. "I have no intentions of fighting you over Sasuke." Ino reacted, saying, "What?"

"You and Sasuke just don't match! I'm also stronger than you now. You're not even a rival!" jabbed Sakura. Now Ino was pissed. Even though she had started to lose interest in Sasuke, having Sakura say that just made her angry. "Sakura! Do you know who you're talking to like that!" she growled. "You cry-baby, Sakura!"

Up in the stands Naruto stepped back a bit. "Uh… I think Sakura-chan might have said too much," he said in worry. Josh smiled. "No Otouto, She's trying to say that she wants Ino to take this fight seriously. She's saying it with verbal jabs," he explained.

"Josh is right." All three boys turned to listen to Kakashi.

"Sakura isn't the type who would brag about her power and hurt another without any reason. She doesn't want Ino to go easy on her."

Back with Sakura, she was remembering the same scene. "I'm still a bud, huh."

(Cue song A Tiny Memory by Nobuo Uematsu from Lost Odyssey Original Soundtrack)

-Sakura's Flashback-

"Hey, Ino-chan," said Sakura whilst looking at the thoroughwort in her hand. Ino looked at her friend. "What is it?" she asked.

"Why did you give me this ribbon?" Sakura asked, referring to the dark red ribbon in her hair with the bow on top.

Ino smiled. "Because…" she started as she looked at the sky. "I thought it would be a waste for you to wither away as a bud." Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at the ground while blushing and smiling softly. Ino saw this and smiled herself. She fiddled with a flower bud in front of her, careful not to pick it. "There's no meaning to a flower unless it blooms." A soft wind blew through the forest, rustling the girls hair. Ino turned back to her friend. "It might turn out to be…" Ino paused as two cosmos petals floated passed their locked eyes.

"A flower more beautiful than a cosmos."

The emotions were too much to handle and she started sobbing quietly. 'Thank you, Ino-chan.'

Ino stood up. "C'mon Sakura. Let's go pick some flowers." Sakura quickly wiped away her tears. "Yeah," she said simply.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" asked Ino, who noticed the quiver in her voice and the tears she was wiping away. "Something got in my eye when I tripped," covered up Sakura. Ino sighed again. "Geez, you're such a klutz."

-Back to Present-

(Cue song Run Silent, Run Deep by Toshihiko Sahashi fro Full Metal Panic OST 2)

Sakura stared at her rival. 'Ino, I've come here believing those words you said to me. Thinking that it would be nice if it was true. That it would be nice if I can bloom a nice flower. That it would be nice if the world was Cadbury. (AN: BWA HA HA HA HA! I just had to put that in. Sorry! Now back to the story!) All this time I wanted to be like you. And I've come here, with you as my goal.' Sakura smiled at Ino. 'Thanks to you, I am here now. Ino, that's why I want to fight you seriously,' she resolved. She had stopped smiling. 'There's no meaning unless I beat the serious you.'

Sakura then reached up and untied her Hitai-ate. Ino noticed this and watched intently. Leaving the headband open, she pulled it off her quickly.

"Why is Sakura-chan pulling off her Hitai-ate?" questioned Naruto.

"I guess rivalry is a mysterious thing," said Kakashi softly as he looked at Gai. He felt someone watching him so Gai turned to see Kakashi looking at him in a knowing way. Kakashi, now embarrassed that he was caught, laughed nervously while waving at Gai. "Hello," he said.

Gai frowned slightly. 'My springtime of life rival, Kakashi. That weird reaction of yours is "hip", and it makes me mad.'

Back on the fight, Sakura and Ino were remembering another past event that went back to when they graduated and found out the teams.

(Cue song Theme of CRISIS CORE "Scars of Friendship" by Takeharu Ishimoto from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack)

-Shared Flashback-

"Ino," said Sakura. The two were in one of the many parks in Konoha. "I'm on the same team as Sasuke-kun."

"Why say it again?" said Ino.

There was a long pause. Sakura finally answered. "I won't lose to you anymore, Ino."

"I won't lose to you in everything, Sakura," Ino agreed. Sakura dug into one of her pockets and held out the red ribbon. "I'll give this ribbon back to you."

Ino was slightly shocked, but that gave way to anger. She smirked. "I gave that ribbon to you. And you're supposed to put that Hitai-ate on your forehead." Sakura's Hitai-ate had now replaced the ribbon.

"I'm no longer the girl who has been chasing you. When I put this Hitai-ate on my forehead, I can't lose to you as a kunochi."

A soft wind blew through the park, ruffling their hair and blowing leaves around the two girls.

Ino smiled. "That's a good idea." She grasped Sakura's hand with the ribbon in between. "I'll do the same when that time comes."

(Cue song I'll Never Give Up! by WATABE Chieru from Prince of Tennis Original Soundtrack 1)

-Back to the Present-

Ino smirked as she undid the knot on her Hitai-ate that was around her slim waist. "I understand now, Sakura."

They then proceeded to tie their Hitai-ate's around their heads with the metal plate resting proudly on their foreheads. The Konoha symbol showing clearly.

'**Now,' **their thoughts mirroring each other. **'Let us use our full powers and have a fair fight!'**

They both charged at each other and both punched out. Both fists met and clashed againsed each other. A small amount of energy shot out from the connected fists that made everyone look intensely. The two slid away from each other and slid into the same taijutsu stance. The basic Academy Taijutsu. They were finally serious.


	22. Chapter 20: The Battle of the Flowers

**Chapter 20: The Battle of the Flowers**

(Cue song SKY-2-HIGH [BATTLE-MENTAL MIX] by Skankfunk from Air Gear Original Soundtrack 2)

They stared at each other, resolute, unbending. They both charged at each other, Sakura creating two bushin. 'Just a normal replication jutsu?' questioned Ino in her mind. "This isn't the ninja academy's final test, you know. You think you can defeat me with such a basic jutsu?" she asked incredulously. Ino fell into a defence stance and waited. 'I can tell which is real if I look closely.'

This is where Josh's training came into play. Sakura applied the Tree Walking exercise and immediately sped up. For the chakra was making her feet grip more effectively, enabling her to push faster without slipping. Ino found herself shocked as two Sakura's dispelled in front of her face, putting up an effective smokescreen. Sakura then used the same technique by channelling chakra into her fist. That fist connected with Ino and she went flying to the other side of the room.

Up on the balconies everyone was shocked at the level of power in that punch. Naruto turned to Josh. "Is this what you had her do?" he asked. Josh nodded and proceeded to explain.

"I had her utilise the Tree Walking training into her fists, like the Sannin, Tsunade. She channels her chakra into her hands and then she punches, dealing several times the damage she puts in physically. She doesn't have the amount of chakra that Tsunade has but her perfect chakra control is able to make up for some of it." Naruto and everyone who heard the explanation turned back to the fight.

Ino came to a tumbling halt. "If you still take me as the crybaby Sakura, you're going to get hurt," Sakura yelled at her. "Fight me seriously, Ino!"

The blond slowly got up and smirked at her rival. "I'm glad to hear that. I'll go at you with everything I have, as you requested." She grimaced.

Sakura charged at Ino while Lee yelled out, "Wonderful movement, Sakura-san!" Ino also sprinted at Sakura, pulling her arm back to throw a right hook. Sakura did the same. They met and blocked each punch with their opposite hand. It then turned into wrestling as both girls struggled for dominance. They sprung apart, both quick drawing a shrunken each. They both collided in mid air.

(Cue song Omnislash (Hurry Up!) by Fishy from Voices of the Lifestream - Disk 4: Order)

-Ten minutes later-

They were still at it. Small craters littered the floor. Ino was shocked as she fought back. 'When did she get this strong?' she asked herself. But the thoughts of Sakura were different. 'I can win… I can…' They both threw a punch and they both connected. They were flung away from each other and they crashed to the floor.

"Oh man!" breathed Naruto. Kakashi stayed silent. 'There is no end in sight if it keeps going like this…' he thought.

Hayate was thinking the same. 'This is a long battle. They have been at it for 10 minutes already.' By now both girls were heaving in air as if they had just run a marathon.

"There's no way you're as strong as me!" yelled Ino in disbelief. Sakura scoffed. "There's no way a slovenly person like you, who spends too much time on her appearance and hair, is my equal."

'Oh shit!' was the collective thoughts of Josh, Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Chouji and Asuma.

Ino then drew a kunai. "Stop underestimating me!" she yelled. She positioned the knife at the base of her long blond ponytail. Sakura looked in shock as Ino cut straight through her hair. The rest of Team 10, Lee and Team 7 were shocked. Josh, however, knew that she would do that, and so was calm.

Sakura quickly got over hr shock and smirked. "Heh, you're pretty simpleminded."

Shikamaru was in slight panic. 'Crap, she's totally lost it.'

"SEE THAT!" yelled Ino while brandishing the hair she cut off. She then threw the hair towards Sakura in apparent rage. "SCREW THIS!" She then took deep breaths to calm herself. All the while Sakura smirked softly.

Ino formed a handseal and said, "I'm going to end this now by making you say 'I give up'!" Shikamaru was shocked. "Wait, is she's going to…!" Josh walked over to Shikamaru and said, "Don't worry. Despite how enraged she looks now she's carefully formulating a plan." Shikamaru looked at Josh. "What do you…?" he asked but Josh just shook his head. "Just watch."

Ino thrusted her hands out in a unique hand seal. Naruto turned to Josh, confused. "Aniki, what's that handseal?" he asked. Josh explained while watching. "Ino is part of the Yamanaka Clan. Their clan jutsu's specialise in projecting their mind into someone else's. They are then able to extract information without resorting to torture. They are also able to control their movements and speak through them. If Ino is successful then she will make Sakura say 'I give up'."

"But the jutsu only works in a straight line. If the target dodges then the user's mind will not return for several minutes," finished off Shikamaru.

Sakura looked slightly worried as Ino smirked. Sakura moved at top speed to try and evade the jutsu. Ino just concentrated and said, "Hijutsu (Secret Technique): Mind Transfer!"

Sakura's body then stopped as Ino's body slumped to the ground. Silence settled on the arena as everyone waited for the results. Sakura started laughing. "Nice try… Ino."

Shikamaru sighed. "There's nothing more she can do now. She screwed up." Josh just smirked.

"It's over now," Sakura said as she made to move over to Ino. She then stopped as she couldn't move her feet. She looked down to see Ino's hair laced with chakra, wrapping around her ankles. She looked up to see Ino smirking.

(Cue song Ruuru by Kimeru, Hisoca & Aozu from Prince of Tennis OST 3)

"You've fallen into my trap, Sakura. I've finally caught you," Ino said.

"Did she just…?" exclaimed Sakura. Ino laughed. "It's just as you guessed. I was just pretending when I formed those seals. So that I could lure you into this trap. How do you like it? You can't move, right? It's a special rope made by running chakra through my hair." Sakura tried to move but to no avail. Ino, making sure to stay in contact with the hair to keep running chakra through, stood up slowly. "Now, the match will be over if I enter your body and make you say 'I give up'." She repeated the seals and said, "I definitely won't miss."

Shikamaru looked at Josh. "I should have thought of that," Josh smiled. "Don't worry. I'm sure you thought of everything based on your information on her. But you forgot to factor in one key piece." Shikamaru looked confused. "What is that?' he asked. Josh looked down at the match.

"That people can evolve in a battle."

'I can't move!' thought Sakura as she kept trying to get out of the hold. But it was too late. "Now… Hijutsu (Secret Technique): Mind Transfer!" This time there was a howling sound as she performed the jutsu for real.

Again Ino's arms slumped to the floor as Sakura relaxed. Again there was tension in the air as all the gennin wanted to know whether it worked.

Sakura started laughing again, just like last time and said, "Nice try…" making a few people think that she missed.

"Sakura." Ino was now inside her. 'Sakura' smirked as she started to raise her hand and admit defeat. Hayate glanced at her, waiting. "I, Haruno Sakura, will give…"

"NO! SAKURA-CHAN!" yelled Naruto just before she finished the sentence. "You've come a long way to get here! Fight Back! We believe in you!" Sasuke joined in. "That's right Sakura! Break through!" And finally Josh called out. "You can do it! Sakura!"

"It's useless telling _me_ that right now," said 'Sakura' before she froze. "What…?" said Ino's mind. Sakura's hands started shaking as she pressed them to her ears. "Is this feeling?" Ino finished.

(Cue song Attou by Kimeru, Hisoca & Aozu from Prince of Tennis OST 3)

'They're all cheering for me…' came a voice inside her head that sounded like Sakura's voice, only much rougher. Sakura's possessed body recoiled slightly. 'I can't believe I let Ino do this,' came the voice again.

"Sakura? This can't be…!" said Ino through Sakura's body as she hunched over slightly, as if a very loud noise was drilling into her ears.

"What is it?" asked Hayate. "Are you going to give up?"

"AAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!" came a pissed off voice from Sakura. It was the voice that came out of Sakura when she was enraged. Naruto backed away slightly as he recognised it. For in the past, every time he heard that voice, he got a severe bashing from her.

"There's no way I'm going to give up!" she growled loudly. Inside Sakura's mind, there was a battle for dominance between Ino and Sakura's Alter Ego: Inner Sakura.

Inner Sakura shoved her hand in Ino's face, trying to force her out. "Damn it!" Ino was totally confused. 'Sakura? This can't be.'

Inner Sakura then grew to giant size and grabbed Ino with both hands. 'I screwed up the jutsu…?' asked Ino in her own mind.

"Ino! If you don't get out of my mind right now, you're going to see hell!" roared Inner Sakura.

Outside Ino was trying desperately to move Sakura's arms into the release seal. 'I won't last long at this rate!' She managed to make the seal and yelled out, "Disengage!"

A visible stream of blue chakra flew out of Sakura and entered back into Ino's body. Sakura, in control of her body once again, slumped to her knees in fatigue. She was breathing quite loudly. Ino was the same.

"No way! She beat Ino's jutsu!" said Shikamaru in awe.

Eventually Ino had to ask. "You have two minds…? Who are you?" But Sakura just answered simply, "I have strength to match my beauty. Girls need to be strong to survive."

'You shouldn't be able to kick out the invader that easily once that jutsu is used on you. It's true that Ino was short on chakra… But the fighting spirit inside Sakura towards Ino, her rival, had a bigger effect,' thought Kakashi as he watched the girls get up once again. 'That was triggered and awakened by the rest of the team's voices, and it kicked Ino out.'

The two kunochi charged at each other for one final move. They both reared back their fists. Again their thoughts were in sync. **'This is the last attack!'** Their fists were metres apart. Feet. Inches. Centimetres. Millimetres.

(Cue song Why (CCFFVII Mix) by Ayaka from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack)

-Shared Flashback-

Sakura and Ino as little girls, laughing together. The scene changed to their promise after the graduation.

-Present-

Both punches collided with each other's head and knocked their hitai-ate off. Small amounts of blood streamed out of their mouths. They flew away from each other and landed roughly on the ground. They both tried to get up, but their stamina was all out. They collapsed, unconscious.

Hayate looked between both combatants before clearing his throat. "Both are unable to fight. Due to a double KO, no-one passes the 4th preliminary match."

-Normal POV-

I sighed heavily. It had certainly been a long match. "I think that was the best outcome, don't you agree guys?" I asked Naruto and Sasuke. They both nodded as Asuma and Kakashi went to collect their female subordinates. As they returned Shikamaru and Chouji ran to check up on their team mate. Naruto, Sasuke, Lee and myself gathered around the Jounin as they laid down the two girls next to each other. They looked peaceful. Asuma straightened up after his evaluation on the both of them. "They don't even require medical treatment. They'll wake up in a bit."

We were all glad as we smiled at the two. Kakashi then spoke up. "A lot has happened, but I'm glad, from the bottom of my heart, that I entered you guys in this Chuunin Exam." He looked at us and smiled warmly.

All of a sudden a beeping sound echoed through the room and we all turned to see who would be up for the fifth round.

Tenten VS Temari

After a minute Tenten and Temari walked down to the floor and faced each other. "I'm getting psyched up since I saw that match," I heard Tenten mumble to herself.

"DO YOUR BEST, TENTEN!" shouted Lee. Luckily he was back with his team and so his yelling didn't damage my ears.

-Third POV-

Sakura slowly woke up. She groaned a bit as the slight pain from her sore muscles came through. She eventually opened her eyes. "You're finally awake, Sakura?" She focused her eyes on Ino who was still next to her. She gasped.

"Tenten! Use your youth power!" she heard Lee's yell in the background. She looked up to see her team looking at the next match. "Go! There's no limit in the springtime of youth!" followed up Gai as they cheered for their team mate.

"Our match is over," said Ino. Sakura looked down. "I… lost?" she asked before a shadow fell over her. She looked up to see Josh standing over her. "No. It was a double KO," he explained as he squatted down to be eye level with her.

"You fought great." He then looked at Ino. "The both of you did." He then got up and walked back to the rail.

Ino looked at the ground. "I'm the one who wants to cry. I tied to someone like you." Sakura looked at Ino only for her to hold up something. It was her Hitai-ate. "Here," she said. "You bloomed into a beautiful flower." Sakura couldn't help it. Tears fell from her eyes. "Ino…" she said, trying to keep the tears back. Ino just grinned at her. Sakura took the headband and tied it in her usual spot, smiling to herself. "But…" said Ino. "Next time we fight, I'm going to do more than make you faint." A tick mark appeared on her head. "Also, I have no intention of giving Sasuke to you." Ino was just baiting her and it worked.

"Same to you!" yelled Sakura. They both growled at each other before huffing and turning away.

"Besides," continued Ino. "I think Josh is kinda hot." No-one noticed Josh's eye twitch once.

(Cue song "March" from DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY by Tsuyoshi Sekito)

Hayate coughed and said, "Fifth match, Tenten and Temari, step up." Tenten, the girl who had been a gennin for a year. Her hair was done up in twin buns on the sides of her head. Dressed in a light pink Chinese style shirt, her brown eyes narrowed at her opponent from the Sand.

It was going to be one hell of a cat fight.


End file.
